Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2: Full Moon
by TheroelWil98
Summary: A bit of a personally revamped version of Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2 with some extended dialogue and a few tweaks to the story here and there. Lots of Zeddison, as well as some of the other major pairings (Bree/Bonzo) (Eliza/Willa). POV's from Zed, Addison and Wyatt.
1. Chapter 1: Progress

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: Progress**

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_:**Narration**:_

"A long time ago, like, before electricity or dental hygiene were a thing, the first settlers reached the coastal area we now call Seabrook. Realizing that this place was, like, a nice place to, ehm, 'settle', they began building houses and stuff, anything to make their lives better and easier…

They weren't alone though… Legends tell of dangerous, hairy beasts with sharp claws and huge fangs lurking in the forest. The settlers bravely defended themselves and this sparked an epic struggle that lasted for generations. As time went on, the monsters were pushed back deeper and deeper into the forest, to the point where they no longer posed a threat to the people who could now finally live in piece and prosperity. And prosper they did…

It is often said that during one of the raids into the forest, some of the settlers discovered something quite extraordinary… I mean, we have no idea what it was, but history books say it was an energy source, a very powerful one… Realizing that they had discovered a precious resource, they safeguarded it from the beasts and brought it back to their newly founded town, hiding their treasure so that no one would steal it…

The town grew rich by harnessing the energy and soon became strong, happy and unified, sort of like the perfect example for any other towns. The beasts, and the fear of them, became a distant memory only to pop up every now and again in children's bedtime stories.

The town forgot monsters could be real, until they were… The story is one as old as time… A little lime soda mixed with a dash of industrial strength energy… and boom!

Zombies were created…

The town devolved into chaos again, but the 'normal' people eventually regained control and zombies got locked away in their own little burrow with some brand new wrist bands that allowed them to, ehm, not crave the flesh of living humans… Life in the little town got back to normal, and people were happy.

This little town, as if you don't know already, is Seabrook… Here in Seabrook, belonging is everything. If you want to have a life, or at least a happy one, you learn to fit in. For some of us, you can guess who, this is somewhat tricky, you know, because being born the way we are means we don't fit in. Still, we kept our heads up and look at us now!

Seabrook has become a strong, united and tight-knit community again! Humans and zombies roam the streets happily, together for the first time. Not to pat myself on the back, but I like to believe my football heroics had something to do with that.

I'm Zed, still a zombie, and I am proud to say that every day is better than the last for the zombies at Seabrook. We are getting rid of all of the old anti-monster laws, meaning that everyone, human and zombie alike, is free to leave or enter Zombietown as they please. Things are looking up like never before… Kids are running around free and cheerful, business is booming and the sun is shining…"

_:**End of narration**:_

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**Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2**

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Zed was basically skipping, a broad grin on his face as he and his sister walked along the sunlit streets of Zombietown, which was nowadays only called that out of sentimental reasons since plenty of humans chose to spend their time here now as well. It was truly amazing to see how much had changed in so little time.

"I want to go to the beach!" Zoey squeaked, pulling impatiently on Zed's arm, though he merely found it adorable.

"We just came from the beach." Zed smiled. "And we don't have that much time to spare, remember?"

"Okay…" Zoey sighed. "Can we get froyo then?"

"Fine." Zed grinned, just as he spotted his football coach and his newly established frozen goods stand. "I might be able to use some of my connections…"

Zoey squealed in delight at Zed's little joke and pulled him forward. Coach, broadly smiling as he handed another satisfied customer some of his goods, saw Zed coming from a distance and began waving enthusiastically.

"What's up, coach?" Zed greeted.

"Oh, football off-season has been good to me, Zed. My little side hustle's gonna go global soon. I'm gonna buy a car, get some dress shirts and I might even go on vacation some time soon, without my aunt Edna even! Though she loves swimwear weather… You know, I might just bring her along…" Coach rambled, staring off into the distance.

Zed and Zoey exchanged a look, both of amusement and some slight uneasiness.

"Say, is it just the two of you? Where's your bubbly cheerleader friend?" Coach added, obviously referring to Addison.

"She's out of town on cheerleader camp." Zed answered, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks at the simple thought of his girlfriend. This was quite impressive, since he had no actual blood that that could rush anywhere in his body.

"We're going to surprise her when she gets back." Zoey spoke up without any input from Zed.

"Well, ain't that sweet…" Coach beamed, misreading Zed's awkward expression as one of glee.

"Cauliflower brains mocha crunch please…" Zoey then piped up, seeing her brother's somewhat stunned look.

"You got it!" Coach smiled broadly as he immediately scooped a large spoon out of one of his many-colored cases.

"A much broader assortment than just vanilla I see." Zed acknowledged.

"Gotta supply to customer demand." Coach nodded. "Now that you and your little zombie friends are my loyal customers, I have finally been able to sell some of my new experimental flavors, which are personally my favorite… What about you, some cerebral chocolate raspberry maybe?"

"I'll stick to vanilla actually." Zed replied. "What?" He exclaimed when he saw his little sister's somewhat disapproving stare. "I like vanilla."

Coach smiled again and handed Zed his froyo before happily waving to him and Zoey as they walked off.

"One final piece of preparation before we head out." Zed told Zoey as they marched on while enjoying their frozen yoghurt. "We gotta get those lightbulbs from dad. He managed to gather some from the powerplant."

"Are the lightbulbs necessary?" Zoey asked as she walked a couple of yards ahead of Zed.

"Yes, I need everything to be zombietacular!" Zed replied with some flair.

Zoey just giggled as she skipped along toward what was formerly the Seabrook powerplant, but had been reduced to little more than a pile of rubble where the zombies would occasionally throw some admittedly wild parties. The plant had previously stood as the proud center of Zombietown, but no longer served any sort of purpose now that the entire city had opened up to the zombies. For both cultural and safety reasons, city officials had opted for a complete demolition of the building.

At the moment, the place was thus crawling with workers in hardhats and overalls who all dragged equipment, pointed at blueprints or loudly called for assistance.

Zed smiled as he saw his father stand among the center of the plant, pointing and yelling loudly as sparks flew around everywhere. Zed was proud to say that his dad had been appointed as foreman of the demolition. It was quite a satisfactory sight to see his old man work so passionately on something. It was not so long ago that zombies were simply stuck doing lousy jobs, and now here they were being actual supervisors.

"Hey dad!" Zed called out as he approached his father.

"Hey son! Sweetie!" His father enthusiastically replied as he handed some sort of document to the man next to him before he turned to his children.

"How's work as a foreman treating you?" Zed grinned.

"Big day for zombie-kind!" His father laughed as he hugged his daughter. "Everything's going smoothly."

"So, ehm, did you get them?" Zed immediately got to the point, rubbing his hands.

"Naturally. I'm actually surprised we got this many working bulbs in this dump." His father answered as he ushered them to a large table covered in blueprints and paperwork. Underneath the table was a cardboard box filled to the brim with lightbulbs. "Are these enough?"

"They should be." Zed nodded as he took the box. "These will be the finishing touch…"

"What about my confetti?" Zoey asked with a small pout.

"Also important!" Zed answered, pointing his finger.

"It's shaping up to be a proper surprise in any case. Has she written back yet?" His father questioned, crossing his arms with a somewhat compassionate expression.

"No…" Zed mumbled, shaking his head.

It was true that Addison had left for cheerleading camp some time ago, and Zed hadn't really stopped thinking about her since the moment she had left. He had written her every other day, keeping her up to date with all the developments that occurred in Seabrook. He hadn't received a single letter in return, and had nearly given up hope several times, but still opted to keep sending letters.

Zed had never been one to quit easily, especially in cases regarding Addison, and he wasn't about to change that now. As far as he was concerned, Addison and he were in love and he would do whatever he could to keep their relationship intact. So, whatever the reason for her prolonged silence, Zed would show all his cards and ask Addison to be his date to Prawn.

Prawn was like some sort of super-sized prom, but Mighty Shrimp themed. This year was the first time in literally ever that zombies were allowed to attend, and Zed wasn't about to waste this opportunity.

Today was the day that Addison would return from cheer camp, and Zed had made plans alongside his friends to set up a grand gesture for Addison. The lightbulbs were the final touch and soon Zed would head out onto the road with his sister to set up a self-designed structure and intercept the cheerleading bus. Really, how could this go wrong?

"She's probably just busy… You know, with cheering and all…" His father said, waking Zed from his contemplations.

"Yeah… Yeah… Sure…" Zed muttered before straightening up and placing a large smile back on his face. "I'm not simply gonna stand by and watch on, I'm gonna put my all into this!"

"That's the spirit!" His father beamed. "That's the zombie in you!"

Before Zed could reply, a loud voice broke the silence from above their heads.

"Hey, hey! Ho, ho! This demolition has got to go!" Someone yelled through wat sounded like a megaphone.

Zed, his father and sister looked up to see Eliza standing on the railing above their heads.

"Ugh, again!?" His father complained. "We've already thrown her out three times today… How does she keep getting back in?"

"Well, there's no security outside…" Zed stated.

"Hmm, we should put some people on that then…" His father mumbled to the amusement of Zed and Zoey.

"I'll talk to her, see what has her riled up." Zed told his father.

"Rather you than me." His father sighed, patting him on the back. "Well, I gotta get back. We wouldn't want this to zom-be my last day at work." He added with a smirk.

"Please don't make any more lame zombie dad jokes." Zed practically begged.

"The workin' stiffs love 'em!" His father gleamed before hugging his daughter one more time, turning around and walking back to his job.

"Grab these, will you? I'll meet you at home in a few." Zed told Zoey as he shoved the box of lightbulbs into his sister's arms.

"It's heavy…" Zoey complained, trying to hoist the box up.

"You'll make it!" Zed told her as he ran off, finding the fastest way up. He ran up the stairs until he reached the railing, looked around and immediately saw Eliza standing to his right, still yelling through her megaphone. "Hey there, they listening yet?"

"No! Because they're all sheep!" Eliza spat, momentarily lowering her megaphone.

"Come on… The plant hasn't worked in years!" Zed tried to persuade her.

"It's an important part of zombie heritage!" Eliza protested.

"It's a safety hazard!" Zed argued.

"Pff, like that has ever bothered us before!" Eliza sneered. "What happened to your zombie pride?"

"I feel pride! Pride of the progress we're making! Come on, Eliza, we can go to prawn now! Humans and zombies side by side! It's gonna be epic!" Zed spoke with enthusiasm.

"You only say that because you have your pretty little cheerleader girlfriend!" Eliza scoffed. "Has she written back yet by the way?"

"No…" Zed admitted, rubbing his neck. "But I'm thinking of zombiekind in general as well! This will only help everyone get together, human and monster alike!"

"It's a way of those picture 'perfect' shrimp to make us conform to the norms of their 'perfect' society!" Eliza complained as she raised her megaphone again. "I for one don't need them! I'm loud and proud to be a zombie!"

"Sometimes a little too loud maybe?" Zed hesitantly questioned.

"No, these people and everyone in the town should know that the humans have no interest in letting us preserve our zombie culture!" Eliza went on.

"'We' don't even like our zombie culture!" Zed retorted. "Seabrook has so much to offer us. I mean, soon our Z-band technology might get so good that zombies will blend right in!"

"I dream of a day we ditch our Z-bands and let our inner monsters roar!" Eliza once again yelled through her megaphone.

"And you wonder why you're not popular?" Zed grinned.

"Pff, you just go continue your little 'prawnposal'." Eliza said with a devious snarl.

"It will be anything but little!" Zed pointed out. "I'm gonna make sure my name will live on in Seabrook history books, precisely for this prawnposal!"

"You know you're my friend, but I sincerely look forward to the blooper videos." Eliza joked.

"Noted." Zed grinned as he patted her on the back and began walking off. "Oh, and my dad requested you leave and, you know, stay away…"

"Hey, hey! Ho, ho! This demolition has got to go!" Eliza retorted, pointing the megaphone straight at Zed.

Zed continued his way down, left the plant and headed back to his home, waving happily to many a zombie and person alike on the way. Really, ever since the anti-monster laws were abolished the streets of both Zombietown and Seabrook just seemed all the more lively.

Zoey was already waiting for him by their home. Multiple carts filled with the equipment Zed needed for his prawnposal at her side.

"You took your time." Zoey complained.

"But I'm here now, so let's take this show on the road!" Zed called out as he grabbed carts and began dragging them away. He felt his heart pounding in his chest… He was finally gonna see Addison again…


	2. Chapter 2: Cheer Camp

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 2: Cheer Camp**

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**_:Narration:_**

"Cheer camp! I have looked forward to this my entire life and it's finally here! Cheer camp is the most amazing, fantastic and inclusive camp in the world, according to everyone from Seabrook at least…

But it's true, for the most part… The camp is even more sparkly and fabulous than I could have ever imagined! The entire squad, including the new recruits, has travelled to the Mighty Shrimp cheer center deep in the woods using the Mighty Shrimp team bus, driven by the one and only Shrimpy!

I'm Addison. I'm still human, still a cheerleader and my hair *sigh* is still white, well-conditioned and still drawing fire from anyone not accustomed to anything out of the ordinary… Other than that, it feels amazing to not have to hide who I really am for once and I can say with confidence that I am ready to fight for what I believe in!

As an already established member of the squad, I expect a lot of pressure to be put on my shoulders, especially regarding the new zombie members. I mean, I for one am so excited to work with them! Really, our team can only improve with them on it! Also, it's not really a secret to anyone that I in particular am very well acquainted with zombies…

I love cheer camp, I really do! It's just too bad that Zed can't be here with me… I do miss him a lot… Still, we promised each other that we'd write every day, and I believe that our relationship can only grow stronger after this time apart.

Aside from that, what I've always been told of cheer camp is that it's a place of harmony, where everyone belongs. We're supposed to be a unified squad, but I can't help the feeling that we're split up somehow… Only occasionally unified…"

**_:End of narration:_**

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"Alright everyone, listen up!" Bucky yelled at the top of his lungs as he addressed the entire squad, currently packed together in front of the luxurious cheer center and murmuring enthusiastically. Everyone immediately quieted down after Bucky's order and looked at him expectedly. Bucky squinted and looked over the crowd, his eyes lingering on Addison, who stood next to Bree in the front row, a little longer.

"I don't know what you have all been told of cheer camp…" Bucky began, pacing in front of the group of nervous cheerleaders. "That it's where wishes come true… That it's a place where dreams are made of… That it's fun… All lies! Aceys, what is cheer camp!?" He shouted at his subordinates.

"A place of blood, sweat, tears and the occasional broken bone!" The aceys replied in unison, standing as straight as humanly possible behind their captain.

"Exactly!" Bucky roared, causing Addison and the rest of the front row to jump up slightly in surprise. "We are here at the luxurious cheer center and that is a privilege! We will not let this opportunity go to waste and we will train, train and train some more! We are in the middle of the woods, so there's no point in trying to escape or calling for help! You have all heard the stories of bloodthirsty monsters that roam these woods, right? Monsters that feast on innocent cheerleaders… Boo!"

No one reacted quite like Bucky had probably anticipated, but they did look at one another a little awkwardly.

"Those stories are just make-believe…" Bucky continued, not thrown off. "But you better believe that we're gonna break you down and build you back up into peppy little cheer machines like me!" He said, smiling broadly and spreading his arms.

Some of the people from behind Addison clapped awkwardly, and Bucky took whatever type of attention he could get.

"Make no mistake…" Bucky went on, seemingly trying to drag on his speech for as long as possible. "The monsters in the woods may not be real, but I am! I will be your biggest nightmare for the coming days! I will get in your head and scramble your brain to mold it as I see fit! A difficult task, in which I am thankfully not alone… For the duration of this camp, you will all obey the commands of… Lacey!" He announced, gesturing enthusiastically at the blonde girl at his right. "Stacey!" Bucky added, gesturing at the dark-skinned girl directly behind him. "And our most recent acey, Jacey!"

"It's Kevin, actually…" The boy replied in a soft tone.

Bucky shot him a glare, maintaining his pose.

"Right…" Jacey hastily corrected. "We changed it to Jacey, which I love by the way…"

"Long live the aceys!" Bucky celebrated, raising his arms as he took in the applause that had erupted from the crowd.

"He's still quite full of himself…" Bree mumbled so that only Addison could hear her.

"No surprise there…" Addison replied, causing her and Bree to giggle.

Bucky squinted at them before letting his eyes wander over the group as a whole again.

"Right, as you all know, the camp is mostly comprised of a challenge called the cheer camp cup…" Bucky announced with the air of TV-show host. "Our cheer squad will be divided into two teams. Aceys! You three lead the veterans, you'll be… the A-team!"

The aceys all cheered and jumped up and down excitedly as half the squad in the crowd moved to one side.

"Hmm…" Bucky pondered, stroking his chin as he examined the remaining squad. "Addison! Bree! You take the newbies! You'll be… uh, you'll be the Z-team!"

The aceys, as well as most members of the A-team laughed in a not so friendly way as they looked at the newly formed Z-team.

Addison herself took a few careful breaths, trying her best to not show the anger she felt at the moment. Sure, Zed and she had made strides in the zombie-acceptance movement, but she imagined that it would take a while before the to her such maligned forms of prejudice would completely disappear from Seabrook. Bucky, being his pompous self, had never been the most sensitive to others, a trait that Addison had hoped would have disappeared by now. Her hopes were apparently in vain.

"This week, the veterans and the newbies will compete for the cheer cup to see who's more cheertastic!" Bucky went on, flashing his white smile. "Now, the veterans have always won, right aceys?"

"Right!" The aceys replied in unison.

"This year, however, is a little different from previous ones…" Bucky said, rubbing his hands. "As you all can clearly see, we have been joined by some of our 'esteemed' zombie friends from the other side of town…"

Everyone looked back to see the group of zombies, no more than ten, standing at the back of the crowd. Addison had to repress a smile when she saw Bonzo enthusiastically wave at everyone, but Bree in particular.

"Zombies!" Bucky clapped his hands as he addressed them. "This is obviously your first cheer camp! Now, I'm not anti-change… I'm just more pro-keeping things the way they are… Because you don't 'mess' with 'success'…" He finished, waving his jazz hands in front of his face.

Everyone on the Z-team looked at each other a little uncomfortably.

"That doesn't mean that you'll be treated differently though!" Bucky tried to reassure them. "No, you'll have the same opportunity to win as the A-team, it's just that no one expects you to…"

"We'll see about that…" Addison mumbled, mostly to herself.

"Well… Without further ado, to the cheer course!" Bucky shouted as he preceded the rest of the squad to the large terrain surrounding the cheer center.

"Z-team! Go!" Addison yelled at the people gathered behind her, who all followed her as she ran off.

The cheer course was large and was comprised of several different sections. Even from her position at the center, Addison could not see all the different parts.

"A-team, you start!" Bucky yelled before sharply blowing a whistle and gesturing at a genuinely enormous tumbling track.

"Watch and learn, snowball…" Lacey sneered as she somewhat roughly pushed herself past Addison, followed by a snickering Stacey and Jacey.

"Don't mind them." Bree encouraged her as she joined Addison at her side.

"I won't…" Addison replied as she watched the first members of the A-team begin performing stunts on the track.

"The only way, the best way to get back at them is by beating them for the cheer cup!" Bree went on.

"Then that's what we'll do." Addison said in a confident tone.

* * *

Addison proudly stood upright, chest still heaving up and down in excitement as she looked back at her teammates. To her immense satisfaction, she saw identical smiles on each of their mud-covered faces. Bree and Bonzo stood in the front, alternating between staring enthusiastically at Addison or at each other.

Next to them stood the A-team, covered entirely in mud and identical frowns on each of their faces. They glared at the victorious Z-team from the out of the corner of their eye, arms crossed and impatiently tapping their feet. The aceys stood in the very front, trying in vain to wipe some of the mud from their clothes and faces. They uneasily looked over at Bucky, who stood in front of both groups with a large trophy at his side and an almost livid expression on his face.

"Well…" He began, his hands on his hips. "It appears we have quite an upset…"

The aceys all squealed as Bucky stared daggers at them for a second.

"Aceys! Disappointing… The veterans have always won the cheer camp cup… You just can't be scared to get those jazz hands dirty…" Bucky commented, making some exaggerated gestures.

None of the aceys or anyone on their team spoke up and they all lowered their head in shame.

"Z-team…" Bucky continued, though with seemingly all the possible reluctance. "The cheer cup is yours… Congratulations…"

Addison began cheering loudly, and so did the rest of her team as they crowded around her and raised the large trophy over their heads. They jumped up and down, shouting and singing as they celebrated their victory. Really, Addison could not find it in herself at the moment to feel any compassion for the other team. After all, they had been the ones who had ridiculed the Z-team and Addison herself from the very start. Right now, Addison simply enjoyed the situation with the team she had led to an unexpected victory.

"You clean yourselves up!" Bucky ordered the A-team with visible disdain. "We have time for a small afterparty before heading back and I have a few more announcements to make… So get moving!"

The A-team trudged back to the cheer center, their shoulders hanging. Addison and her team stayed behind for a couple more minutes, simply to admire the trophy and complement each other on their achievement.

"Addison, we did it! You did it!" Bree squealed before hugging her.

"Zitski-Temski!" Bonzo happily shouted as he hugged both Addison and Bree tightly.

"Good job, guys! Really…" Addison grunted in the tight embrace. "I'm so proud of you! Of everyone!" She added once Bonzo released her.

"Three cheers for our captain Addison!" Bree called out, after which all the members of Z-team applauded her.

"C'mon Bree… You are my co-captain." Addison replied, blushing a little.

"But I could never inspire anyone the way you did, Addie." Bree smiled.

"I beg to differ." Addison smirked, nodding over to where Bonzo was standing.

Bree began blushing and giggling, unable to utter any sensible words, so Addison simply put an arm around her and together they walked back to the cheer center. After they cleaned themselves and changed out of their dirty outfits, they headed to the main lounge, where the rest of the squad was already waiting for Bucky's announcement.

On their way, Addison couldn't help but check up on her personal mailbox, which she found as empty as it had been for the duration the camp.

"Still no letter from Zed?" Bree asked compassionately.

"No… Nothing…" Addison sighed as she closed her mailbox with a bit more force than intended. "I mean, I don't know… I thought that he'd write back… I sent him a letter every day that I've been here…"

"Maybe he's, ehm, busy or something… We can only guess how much Seabrook has changed since we left." Bree tried to comfort her.

"Maybe… I don't know what I could have expected from him anyway…" Addison went on, rubbing her arm. "Maybe we weren't what I thought we were…"

"Come on, Addie! Don't talk like that! We all know that you love him!" Bree basically shouted, shaking Addison by grabbing her upper arm.

"I never said that!" Addison squealed, her eyes widening.

"That doesn't mean it's not true." Bree grinned. "Now take that frown off your face! We'll return to Seabrook later today and you'll see Zed and he'll explain why he was such an idiot as to not write you back."

Addison started smiling despite her efforts not to. "Okay… Let's do that..."

"And who knows…" Bree went on. "Maybe it was all a trick and he'll actually invite you to prawn?"

"After forgetting about me all camp?" Addison retorted with just a hint of sadness.

"Hey, at least you have someone waiting for you. Bonzo won't even look at me…" Bree moped.

"Then you haven't been looking." Addison beamed. "I'll bet he's already making an apple sculpture for you."

Bree again feel into a fit of giggling, which didn't stop until she and Addison reached the main lounge, which was already filled with people.

"Oh my god, I just got asked to prawn!" Someone suddenly yelled out, and the lounge erupted in a chorus of cheers and applause.

"Well, at least someone's going…" Addison said with a sad smile.

Bonzo and most of the other zombie-members of the squad sat around a large table, where the cheer camp cup stood proudly in their middle. Before Addison could follow Bree and join them, she was suddenly stopped by the aceys, who blocked her way.

"Hey, Addie! We just wanted to congratulate you!" Stacey stated with the biggest fake smile Addison had ever seen.

"You know, because you did such a great job turning that rag tag group into a winning team!" Lacey added, nodding her head towards the zombies.

"Ehm, thanks…" Addison began, a little uncomfortable.

"We're not finished!" Stacey interrupted her. "We wanted to give you a small prize. With a position as team captain, you'll need some new equipment!"

Jacey removed his hands from his back and promptly shoved a pair of pompoms in hers.

"Uh, pompoms?" Addison questioned, looking at the two colorful pieces of shredded paper.

"Look closely." Lacey said in a wicked tone.

Addison did as she was asked and saw to her astonishment how there were words written on the pink and green streaks of ripped up paper. These weren't regular pompoms, these were the letters she had sent to Zed! Furthermore, she saw several streaks of green, with words written in what she easily recognized as Zed's handwriting! Zed hadn't forgotten about her! The aceys had simply kept both him and her from receiving any letters!

"T-this… W-wha… H-how could you?" Addison stammered, looking up into the menacingly smiling faces of the aceys.

"We're the aceys." Lacey said with a smirk.

"We pull the strings." Stacey added.

"We run the show." Jacey concluded.

The aceys all sassily snapped their fingers before promptly turning around and walking towards the other end of the lounge.

"What was that?" Bree asked as she walked up to Addison, her eyes not leaving the aceys.

"They tore up all our letters…" Addison answered in a sad tone. "Zed never forgot about me… But he'll think I'll have forgotten about him…"

"Oh, Addie…" Bree tried to console her friend. "You can fix this. We can fix this! I'll slap Zed silly if he's stupid enough not to understand what happened."

Addison snickered. "Thanks again… What would I do without you?"

"Be miserable." Bree replied as she ushered Addison to the table with the Zombies.

"Zig ga a zong, Adski?" Bonzo asked, looking at her messy pompoms with a confused expression.

"It's nothing, Bonzo." Addison smiled. "It's all good. We can just enjoy our victory for a little while more." She added as she stared up at the trophy.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Bucky suddenly jumped onto their table and snatched the trophy.

"Everyone!" He called out, loud enough so that the entire room could understand him. "First, I would like a quick round of applause for our Z-team and their captains Addison and Bree for winning the cheer camp cup!"

A polite applause from most members of the A-team was mixed with the loud hollering of the members of Z-team, who stomped on the ground and clapped their hands in celebration.

"Alright, enough!" Bucky snapped, silencing the room. "Glad you enjoyed it, your second in the spotlight. Now, let's make this victory about me!"

Addison rolled her eyes, but listened anyway.

"Drumroll please… After careful consideration, I have decided to be school president this year!" Bucky announced, spreading his arms in a celebratory gesture. "Now, technically there is an election, but come on… As school president, I will be able to make the new school year even more cheertastic than the last! I want to double the amount of pep rallies, provide an on-school manicure site and implement a holiday exclusively for cheerleaders! Now, taking on this responsibility does mean that we'll need a new cheer captain while I rule the school…"

Addison felt as though her heart jumped up in her chest and her mouth fell open. A new cheer captain!? Had she heard right? Being cheer captain had always been her dream!

"Now, who's worthy to lead?" Bucky asked with a grin, his eyes scanning the open-mouthed cheerleaders and again resting a little longer on Addison.

"Me! Me! Me!" Stacey immediately shouted, jumping up from her seat and raising her hand.

"No! No! Me! Pick me!" Lacey jumped in, waving her hands desperately.

"Woah! Woah! Who to pick? Who to pick?" Bucky rubbed his hands with an amused gleam in his eyes. "Once we return to Seabrook, we're gonna have honest elections. Well, any other people willing to throw their pompoms into the ring?"

Addison was about to speak up, but somehow her voice got stuck in her throat. Crestfallen and ashamed, she bowed down her head.

"I nominate Addison!" A voice spoke up, causing Addison to jerk up her head.

Bree had stood up, her hand raised and a confident sparkle in her eyes. Addison felt as though her heart could burst out of her chest with the amount of joy and gratefulness she felt.

"We need a captain that's going to build a united squad! Someone who can inspire confidence and cheerfulness in people! Someone like Addison…" Bree continued, making Addison feel warm inside.

"Adski!" Bonzo yelled, standing up to applaud loudly.

"Very well…" Bucky snickered, looking at Addison in a way she found difficult to pin down. "I guess we have three, or maybe two candidates?" He added, looking questioningly at the aceys.

"We will run together!" Lacey and Stacey said in unison, grabbing each other by the hand.

"Two candidates it is!" Bucky called out. "I already look forward to the campaigns! Go make your posters, hand out your badges and prepare your speeches! And I look forward to have having either of you at my side when I become president."

Excited chatter immediately filled the lounge as everyone began discussing the situation amongst themselves. Addison turned to Bree with a large smile.

"Thank you so much!" She said from the bottom of her heart.

"You seemed to have a little trouble speaking, so I did it for you." Bree grinned.

"I-I don't know what came over me… But thank you…" Addison went on, still grinning widely.

"I should thank you. If you become captain, you will definitely lead us to glory." Bree gushed.

Addison just kept on smiling as she pulled Bree into a strong hug.


	3. Chapter 3: Yellow Eyes

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**A few answers to questions I got in the reviews:**

· StillConfused: I am certainly not finished with the story. The summary stated that I would show POV from Zed, Addison and Wyatt, all of whom still have chapters to come. Please be patient.

· Queene: I will not make a 'characters watch ZOMBIES 2 story, since those are some of my least favorite fanfictions.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Yellow Eyes**

* * *

"Alright, to the bus everyone!" Bucky shouted, clapping his hands. "Let's get back to Seabrook!"

Everyone from the squad cheered and they quickly moved towards the exit of the cheer center, chatting loudly about the exciting camp they had experienced and the announcements Bucky had made. Addison and Bree walked back to the bus, where their mascot Shrimpy was already behind the wheel.

As they sat down, Addison couldn't stop a broad smile from being constantly present on her face. She shimmied in her seat excitedly and kept on twiddling her thumbs.

"You seem a little more upbeat." Bree acknowledged.

"I'm just excited to get back home." Addison replied with a smirk.

"Or to get back to a certain someone?" Bree inquired, nudging Addison's arm.

"Maybe…" Addison shrugged. "I'll need to explain some things, I guess… But I still can't wait to see him!"

"I'm sure he feels the same. He'll probably want to continue from where you left off…" Bree teased.

Addison blushed, kept on smiling and didn't answer as the bus began shaking and started up. Animated chitchat filled the bus as all squad members excitedly discussed what was waiting for them at home and what they would do with their newly freed up time.

Addison was lost in thought in the early parts of the trip as she simply admired the outside scenery. The bus drove through a beautiful forest road, allowing Addison to look out at the trees that flashed by. She had always liked the forest, not only to play or walk around in, but also because it had always been the one place where she could occasionally remove her wig when she was younger.

Like every child in Seabrook, Addison had been told terrifying bed-time stories of monstrous beasts that inhabited the deep forests surrounding the town, but she never payed these any mind. To her, the forest was simply a place of peace and tranquility, a place where she wasn't constantly forced to behave perfectly. A place where she could be herself.

Letting her thoughts wander elsewhere, she thought about Zed. She felt butterflies in her stomach and softly giggled to herself just saying his name to herself. Whatever mean trick the aceys pulled, Addison was sure that she would be able to explain the situation. Then, she and Zed would have the rest of the year to simply enjoy each other's company.

She also wondered how Seabrook would have changed in the relatively short time she'd been away. When she had left, saying a nearly tearful goodbye to Zed, she and him had been in the middle of pushing through some new and improved pro-monster laws. The town, apart from a few hardcore conservatives, had been totally on board in this. Addison liked to point out Zed's nearly infectious energy regarding the matter as the main reason why things were improving the way they were, because both she and the town needed a zombie to fall back on.

Addison's smile grew wider as she remembered how Zed had once enthusiastically told her of what he believed Seabrook could be… A place where everyone fit in, no matter what they were, where they came from or what they looked like… Addison, with her newfound confidence, had pledged herself to the plan and had no intention of slowing down.

"Addie!" A voice hissed and she felt someone poke her in her side.

"What?" Addison exclaimed, looking at Bree.

"Look!" Bree urged, pointing out the window.

Peering out the window, Addison saw a strange, wooden construction. As she watched on, two wooden signs rolled themselves out. They spelled a few carefully chosen words…

'_Addison' 'Will you'_

"Addison… Will you…" Bree and a number of other people on the bus repeated.

Addison felt her heart thumping in her chest and stood up straight in her seat. She was nearly jumping in excitement. This could not be really happening!?

Another sign soon appeared, almost identical to the first one. More words appeared as the signs rolled down again.

'_Go to' _'_The Prawn_'

"Go to… The prawn…" The others again repeated, sounding almost as thrilled as Addison was.

As the bus rode on, and they took a sharp turn, another construction appeared. This one containing a sign spelling '_With_' followed by an enormous arrow that pointed down to…

"Zed!" Addison cried out in panic as she saw what was unmistakably Zed, standing on a ladder in the middle of the road. Even from a distance, his green hair was hard to miss. Her excitement and joy immediately evaporated and she screamed loudly in fear as the bus was headed straight for Zed. Everyone in the bus followed her example, screaming in complete distress as the breaks of the bus made an almost deafening screeching sound.

Addison gripped the seat in front of her tightly, her knuckles turning white as she heard a sickening crash and the bus hobbled up and down. Several loud banging noises were heard from the bus's roof and something suddenly dropped down in front of the window next to her.

It was Zed, hanging from the top of the bus by one arm while the rest of him simply dangled off the side.

"Zed!" Addison screamed again as she pressed herself against the window.

Outside, she saw Zed's expression change from panic to extreme glee in less than a second when he laid eyes on her. Hanging on with one arm, he pressed his left hand against the window, on the exact opposite side of where Addison had pressed her right hand.

Despite herself, Addison smiled broadly at seeing Zed's dumb grin. God, she had really missed this buffoon.

This fleeting moment of happiness lasted only a brief second though, as Zed quickly lost his grip and helplessly tumbled down onto the road.

"Zed! Zed!" Addison repeatedly banged on the windows and leaned forward as far as she could in an effort to keep an eye on Zed. The bus rapidly span out of control however, as the sound of screeching brakes grew louder and louder, as did the screaming of the cheer squad.

The bus driver, for some undiscernible reason dressed in a mascot uniform, lost control of the steering wheel and the bus immediately went off road and crashed into the tree line. Addison was thrown back in her seat and she felt Bree's arms grab her and pull the two of them tightly against each other. Addison closed her eyes in fear as the bus just drove on, smashing through more trees and bushes. The shaking and crashing sounds were nearly unbearable, but did eventually stop…

"Are we dead?" Addison heard Bree ask.

"No, we aren't." Addison answered as she untangled herself from Bree's arms and stood upright. Around her, disgruntled cheerleaders all slowly straightened up and examined their predicament with wide eyes. "Is everybody okay?" She asked.

Everyone nodded or mumbled in confirmation, relieving Addison of some of her worst fears.

"Ahh! My hair!" She heard a voice she recognized as Bucky's cry out.

Addison rolled her eyes as she moved to the back of the bus, examining her surroundings on the way. Through every window, all she saw was forest, a forest of old trees and thick bushes.

"What's going on? Are we trapped?" Bree asked, sounding terrified.

"We're fine. Someone will pick us up." Addison tried to reassure her. "No one got hurt, that's the important part." She added, before her eyes widened in shock. "Zed! Oh my god! Zed!" She yelled as she immediately sprinted for the back of the bus.

"Adski?" Bonzo exclaimed in alarm.

"He fell off the bus! Oh my god, what if he's hurt!?" Addison squeaked in a shrill voice as she pulled on the emergency exit door.

"Addie, calm down!" Bree urged her, just as Addison managed to open the door.

"Addison! Don't!" Bucky intervened, and she felt a hand on her shoulder just as she tried to get out.

"Zed's out there!" Addison protested, trying to shake herself loose.

"I'll go check." Bucky said with a confident and toothy grin.

"You?" Addison questioned, unable to keep the skepticism out of her voice.

"Nothing will happen to me, I'm too important…" Bucky bragged as he placed one foot on the emergency exit, slipped and helplessly tumbled out of the bus into a puddle of mud.

Addison again rolled her eyes as Bucky sputtered and screamed, only attracting the attention from more members of the squad.

"Everyone, stay calm. I'll go outside and see if I can find some help, and find Zed…" Addison stated confidently.

"Great leadership Addie, very future cheer captain of you!" Bree encouraged her as Addison gracefully stepped out of the bus, past a still blubbering Bucky and into the forest.

"Just wait for me here." Addison yelled back.

"Don't get yourself into too much trouble!" Bree responded.

Addison waved back one more time before passing a couple of trees, making the bus disappear from her view. She walked on, watching her step on the uneven forest ground, and the sounds of her friends on the bus quickly faded. The tracks of the bus were easy enough to follow, so getting back onto the road wouldn't be too much of a struggle, but the forest was still thick and the bus had left some genuine devastation in its crash path. Broken branches obstructed her path, and her clothing got stuck on sharp twigs on more than one occasion. Just when Addison felt as though the forest was clearing up a little, the clear sound of a cracking twig suddenly alerted her.

"Hello?" Addison called out, quickly looking back. There was nothing behind her, as far as she could see anyway. "Zed?" Addison yelled, hoping that somehow her favorite zombie would step out and greet her. There was no answer, and no sign of anything or anyone around her. "Bree?" Addison tried. "Anyone? Hello?"

She suddenly heard another cracking sound and hastily spun around. "Who's there?" Addison yelled, looking as best she could between the lines of large trees. "Hello?"

Another sound, and again Addison whirled around to try and spot the culprit. Her breathing quickened, but she tried to stay rational. It was probably just an animal… A dear maybe, or a rabbit… Or maybe it was the wind? Or maybe she was just being paranoid?

Despite herself, the memories of the scary stories of the forest resurfaced, but she tried to repress those irrational fears. Those were just stories! They were made to scare children and keep them out of the woods! There was no such thing as monsters! Well, aside from zombies that is…

Yet another sound, this one sounding unmistakably like a footstep. "Who's there!?" Addison shouted, a little more urgency in her voice. "Zed? Does anybody hear me? Zed!?" Her eyes still scanned the trees around her, but she saw nothing, until…

A large shape, crouched down and hairy-looking, stared straight at her from the shadow in between two trees with two bright yellow eyes. The beast, or whatever it was, opened its mouth and two large fangs became visible, even in the shadow of the trees.

Addison was frozen in fear and was about to scream, when she felt something touch her left shoulder. "Aaahh!" She screamed as she immediately whirled around and lashed out with her right fist, hitting whatever touched her square on the jaw.

"Ow!" Someone yelled out in pain.

Addison focused and she saw Zed standing in front of her, clutching his pained jaw. It was Zed!

"Zed!" Addison exclaimed in a mixture of alarm and extreme relief.

"Ah, I missed you too…" Zed mumbled, able to somehow conjure up a grin as he rubbed his jaw.

"Zed!" Addison repeated, though simply in ecstasy this time as she basically jumped up and put her arms around his neck in a strong hug.

Addison felt Zed stumble a few steps, but he eventually found his balance and eagerly hugged her back. "I really missed you…" He whispered as they lightly swayed from side to side.

"It's so good to see you!" Addison squealed, only pulling Zed closer to her. "You… Wait! Oh my god, are you okay!?" She suddenly asked fearfully as she pushed him at arm's length.

"What? Oh, I'm fine…" Zed smirked, spreading his arms. "Just a few bumps and scratches, nothing a zombie can't handle…"

"What were you doing on the middle of the road!?" Addison shrieked.

"Ehm, surprising you…" Zed offered with a light shrug.

"You could have gotten yourself killed!" Addison retorted as she lightly punched his arm.

"Ow! Well, if I do get killed, it will be because you keep punching me!" Zed sneered.

"I'm so sorry!" Addison immediately apologized, putting her hands to her mouth.

"Doesn't matter… Just, ehm… Let's not have this become a regular thing, shall we?" Zed proposed with a smile.

Addison laughed, feeling the tension in her body almost literally melt away as she simply stared lovingly into Zed's eyes. It was all she could do to prevent herself from kissing him right then and there, but then she suddenly remembered why she had been so startled in the first place. She turned her head and looked back at the space in between the two trees where she had seen what she could only describe as a monster, only to find it abandoned, not an animal or anything else in sight.

"What is it?" Zed asked, following Addison's line of sight.

"I saw something… Over there, by those trees…" Addison mumbled, listening closely to see if she could hear any of the sounds that had previously terrified her.

"What was it?" Zed went on, stepping around Addison.

"It, ehm… Nothing, it was stupid…" Addison sighed, grabbing Zed by the arm.

"What was it?" Zed repeated a little more forcefully. "You looked completely frightened when I walked up to you…"

"It, ehm… It looked like some sort of monster, with yellow eyes and huge teeth." Addison admitted, beginning to blush as she realized how crazy she sounded.

"A monster?" Zed questioned, pulling up his eyebrows.

"Don't laugh!" Addison protested, though she couldn't help but smirk herself. "I heard sounds and everything! Who knows what creeps around in this forest!"

"Are you sure that you saw something? I mean, maybe the light was playing tricks on you…" Zed proposed.

"I'm sure. Do you honestly believe I would make something like this up?" Addison retorted.

"I'm not saying you made it up… Just that maybe you panicked or something… I mean, a monster?" Zed shrugged.

"You're on to talk about monsters." Addison responded with a bit of a mischievous grin.

Before Zed could reply, the sound of crunching branches and footsteps alerted Addison again and she hastily turned around, only to see Zoey, Zed's younger sister, stumble in their direction.

"Zoey!" Addison exclaimed in total relief.

"Addie!" Zoey basically cheered as she smiled broadly and ran at her.

"I told you to stay on the road!" Zed protested, though he did crack a smile as he watched Addison and Zoey hug each other.

"I got bored." Zoey protested, looking up at her brother in a defiant way.

"You shouldn't have left the road, this place could be dangerous…" Zed went on.

"Did you say you saw a monster, Addie?" Zoey asked, completely disregarding Zed.

"What? Oh… No… No… There's nothing…" Addison replied, trying to brush it off.

"Aww… My dad always told me stories of monsters living in the woods. I really want to see one! Maybe we could become friends!" Zoey squealed in delight.

Addison couldn't help but crack a smile, and she saw Zed also look affectionately at his sister.

"There are no monsters here, Zoey." Zed told her. "And again, I told you to stay on the road!"

"Why are you out here anyway?" Addison asked, keeping hold of Zoey's upper arm.

"I helped with the surprise." Zoey proudly stated. "Weren't you surprised?"

"Oh, very…" Addison answered. "Especially the part where Zed got run over."

"That wasn't planned. I'm not that stupid." Zed protested.

"Well, you did cause our bus to crash." Addison said in a joking manner.

"Yeah… Is everyone okay?" Zed asked, looking beyond Addison at the damage done by the crash.

"They're fine. I went out to get help and check on you." Addison replied.

"A few people have already stopped by, they've called for help." Zed told her.

"Good." Addison nodded. "We can get the others then."

"Lead the way." Zed gestured, making sure to take one of Addison's hands in his own as well.

The way back to the bus seemed way shorter with Zed and Zoey by her side. Once at the bus, they saw a still very distressed Bucky, who got the mud cleaned off of him by the aceys. The rest of the squad was crowded around the back of the bus.

"Addison! Zed! Is everything okay?" Bree asked as soon as she spotted them.

"Zedski!" Bonzo bellowed as he sprinted in their direction and grabbed Zed in such a tight hug that it lifted him off the ground.

"Good to see you too, Bonzo…" Zed groaned, his face contorting in pain.

"There are already people on their way here, according to Zed at least." Addison explained as more of the squad gathered around her.

"Didn't get into too much trouble, did you?" Bree asked a little teasingly.

"No… No…" Addison mumbled, looking back at the thick forest around her. She couldn't help but think about the monster she could have sworn to have seen in the shadows. It had seemed so real… Those eyes, those yellow eyes, they would definitely not leave her mind for some time…


	4. Chapter 4: Howling

**A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.**

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Howling**

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"What was it? Did you see?" Willa asked as soon as Wyatt stepped into the clearing where most of their pack had already gathered.

"It was a bus. It crashed off the road and right into our territory." Wyatt answered as the other wolves moved closer to hear him better.

"A bus? Here? Who would come all the way out here?" Willa followed up, looking over in the direction where the pack had all heard the loud crash.

"Some weird humans in pink outfits… They had a giant shrimp ride their bus… But listen, that's not the most important part!" Wyatt continued, making the urgency clear in his voice.

"Did you just say 'a giant shrimp'?" Wynter inquired, her eyebrows raised.

"Yes, but…" Wyatt replied before he was interrupted.

"How did they teach a shrimp to drive a bus?" Wynter went on.

"It wasn't a real shrimp!" Wyatt clarified, nearly shouting. "Listen, this is huge!"

"What is it?" Willa asked, crossing her arms.

"I saw her… I saw the great alpha…" Wyatt spoke, a wide smile appearing on his face.

Immediately, excited chatter erupted among the wolves, who all whispered to each other with wide eyes.

"You what?" Willa questioned, her face turning cold.

"I saw the great alpha! No doubt about it!" Wyatt excitedly answered.

"Impossible… Where?" Willa followed up.

"She was with them! She was with the humans!" Wyatt continued.

"A human? You believe the great alpha is a human!?" Willa growled, obviously not happy with the implication.

"She had white hair, as light as snow!" Wyatt told the pack.

"Could have just been a trick of the light…" Willa sneered.

"I know what I saw!" Wyatt retorted.

"Alright, so where is she now?" Willa challenged.

"Back with her people… I wanted to walk up to her, but some guy intervened… Some weird looking green-haired guy…" Wyatt recounted.

"Did she see you?" Willa questioned.

"Uh, she might have… I hid as soon as the other guy showed up… I'm not sure…" Wyatt shrugged.

"That's bad." Willa mumbled, rubbing her neck. "If she saw you… What if she tells the others… What if they come look for us? We kept our pack hidden for hundreds of years, and now you've led them straight to us!"

"Hey! Hey! Woah!" Wyatt challenged, raising his hands protectively. "We can't know for sure… The humans haven't come looking for us in ages, why would they do so now? What's more important is that we find the great alpha and get her on our side!"

"If there even is a great alpha!" Willa retorted.

Wyatt looked over at the other wolves, who all followed his and Willa's argument in interest. "The prophecy has been in our pack for generations, you just want to throw all that away? The only hope our pack has left?"

"Of course not!" Willa growled. "But still, how do we know if the girl you saw is the great alpha?"

"We can find her, bring her back!" Wyatt urged. "If she is the great alpha, she can lead us to the moonstone!"

More excited whispering broke out among the wolves, who all stared up at the barely visible moon above them.

Willa bit her lip, seemingly contemplating Wyatt's proposal. "What if she can't? What if she's not the alpha and we will have wasted our hopes for nothing?"

"There's no harm in trying, right?" Wyatt offered. "Willa, we don't have much time left. More and more of the pack are getting sick… Our necklaces are almost out of power… If there's even the slightest chance that that girl is the alpha, then we should take it…"

Willa looked around, all the other wolves seeming both hopeful and eager. Wyatt also looked on with a growing sense of tension. Willa had always been a strong and capable leader, but she had a deep distrust for anything relating to the humans and their town. Wyatt had at one time believed that Willa might have thought of herself as the great alpha, even though she herself had no idea where the moonstone was. Wyatt just hoped that for this once, Willa could put her personal vendetta aside and do what was best for the pack.

"How would we even find her?" Willa asked.

Wyatt cheered a little on the inside as Willa appeared to be partially agreeing with his plan.

"I found this!" Wyatt hastily said, grabbing a tiny piece of fabric out of one of his pockets.

"What is it?" Wynter asked, squinting her eyes to examine it.

"A piece of her uniform, it got ripped off on a branch…" Wyatt explained.

"You plan on tracking her down? What, you're gonna sniff her out?" Willa asked in a skeptical tone.

"It says Seabrook High…" Wyatt replied as he showed her the label. "I figured that we'd start there…"

"Going into the town… It's still dangerous…" Willa contemplated.

"So is staying here and doing nothing!" Wyatt retorted. "And even if we do get discovered, are you saying that you're scared of the humans?"

"I am not scared of anything!" Willa snarled, her eyes flaring up in bright yellow.

"Good to see that we agree on that…" Wyatt sighed.

"You're out of line." Willa went on, standing up straight. "I still lead this pack!"

"I meant no disrespect…" Wyatt apologized, though with a skeptical undertone. "I simply believe that this is a lead we have to follow… I mean, would you call it a coincidence that she just happened to crash into this exact part of the woods?"

"The white-haired girl? The supposed great alpha?" Willa cynically replied.

"Let me find her… Bring her back… You'll all see for yourself!" Wyatt stated, first just to Willa and then to the other wolves.

"You want to what? Invite her over for tea?" Willa sneered.

"I'll talk to her… Take her back and she will tell us where the moonstone is…" Wyatt said.

"You think she'll just come along? No way! We're wolves, they're humans! They fear us!" Willa fired back.

"As they should…" Wynter added.

"Then I'll take her!" Wyatt retorted. "I bring her here and we'll explain the situation then!"

"Kidnapping… Great start…" Willa teased. "You think that she'll help us then?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Wyatt snapped, silencing Willa. "At least I'm actively trying to do something here!"

"And unlike you, I try to consider what is best for the pack!" Willa sneered.

Wyatt was breathing heavily, his hands balled into fists. He and Willa were nearly nose to nose and had both bared their teeth.

"Guys?" Wynter softly spoke up. "We shouldn't fight… We're still a pack…"

Both Wyatt and Willa looked up and examined the rest of the pack, who all looked on somewhat anxiously.

Wyatt took a step back and bowed his head. "I truly meant no disrespect…"

Willa sighed. "I know that… I just want to look out for everyone, including you…"

Wyatt nodded, uncomfortably shuffling on his feet.

"Guys…" Wynter spoke up again.

"Yeah?" Willa answered.

"Would you actually like to know what we all think?" Wynter inquired. "Normally we hold votes in times like these."

"You're right… You're right…" Willa nodded, looking over at the other wolves. "We should not forget who we are… What we are… Especially in the hardest of times…"

"You want to vote?" Wyatt offered.

"Yes." Willa answered. "The pack decides… I will not stand against their decision."

"Thank you. I can live with that…" Wyatt sighed.

"Okay… Wolves, do you agree with Wyatt that we should pursue this possible great alpha?" Willa stated to the pack.

"It's her! I'm certain!" Wyatt exclaimed.

"Let them decide!" Willa snapped. "Who here thinks that Wyatt should be allowed to track down this girl? If you believe that he should, raise your hand…"

All the wolves sort of looked around, carefully checking what their comrades were doing before casting their vote. A lot of them then put their hands up, including Wynter. They were with far more than half, and Wyatt himself eventually also put his hand up.

"Really?" Willa asked with a slight grin.

"I want to do this." Wyatt replied.

Willa looked at the number of raised hands and sighed as she seemingly accepted the inevitable outcome.

"Fine… The pack has decided… I will not oppose an honest decision." Willa stated.

"Thank you." Wyatt said, the gratitude dripping off his voice.

"You get into their little town, find that girl and bring her back. If she truly is the great alpha, then maybe we can finally reclaim what's rightfully ours…" Willa went on.

"We own the night!" Wyatt cheered, raising his arms.

"Awoo!" All the wolves howled in a manner of celebration.

"I will not let you down!" Wyatt promised. "I will not let this pack down! I will infiltrate that sickening town and I will return with the great alpha! She will lead us to the moonstone and we will rule the night for a hundred years to come!"

The wolves cheered again, with some of them wolving out completely and howling even more enthusiastically. Even Willa joined in eventually, her necklace glowing as she raised up her head.

Wynter was the first one to fall into a coughing fit, alerting the rest of the wolves.

"Wynter! Are you alright?" Willa asked, kneeling down next to her friend.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Wynter protested, trying in vain to mask her coughing.

"You're not fine! None of us are!" Wyatt objected. "We have no time to spare!"

"Go then…" Willa told him, still kneeling next to Wynter. "Just don't get yourself hurt!"

"I won't… You know me…" Wyatt grinned.

"Good luck. And don't you dare not come back!" Willa threatened, though she did crack a smile.

Wyatt nodded yet again, looked over his pack one more time and then headed off into the direction of Seabrook, quickly leaving the clearing behind. He felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest as he ran through the forest. He felt elated and energetic now that he finally had a real purpose.

All those years, he and the pack had struggled to survive in the woods, neither able nor willing to venture out into Seabrook for supplies or better living conditions. The numbers of the wolves had dwindled dramatically over the past years, with most of the elders falling sick due to their uncharged necklaces. Things were only growing worse, with even younglings like Wynter already falling victim. No one knew what to do… With their meager numbers, they did not dare wage any sort of war against the humans. They had no idea where they could find the moonstone, nor were they able to think of any way of finding it. They were completely stuck… Now things all seemed to suddenly move so much faster…

He had found the great alpha! He had found her!

The prophecy of the great alpha was the most sacred and cherished out of all the werewolf legends. After the moonstone had disappeared when it had been taken by the settlers, a prophecy had been made that one day a wolf with manes as white as snow would lead the pack to the moonstone and restore their old ways.

That girl in the woods… That girl was the absolute spitting image of how the great alpha had always been described. Her hair… As white as snow… Even if she was human, that did not mean contact with a moonstone necklace would not cause her to wolf out…

Wyatt believed in fate. And it could just not be a coincidence that this girl just showed up in the woods at this time. Now the pack had something to believe in again, just when they had reached their lowest point. And now he was charged with arguably the most important mission in the pack's history.

Step one would be finding that girl, and he did not know how difficult that was going to be… He had never been to the town called Seabrook, simply because it had always been strictly forbidden for anyone of the pack to leave the forest. Werewolf rule number one for survival was to stay hidden. If the humans did not know where they were, they would have no chance of hurting them. This did complicate things, because even though Wyatt knew where he needed to go, he did not know how to get there. However, he would deal with that later…

Step two would be trying to take her back to the den. He truly wished that she would come along voluntarily, but he also knew that he would not hesitate to use physical force if push would possibly come to shove… The survival of the pack was at stake, and he would do anything in his power to make sure that they would endure. If that meant having to use a more direct or violent approach, then so be it…

* * *

This was a really weird town. That's what Wyatt thought to himself as he carefully snuck through the back alleys of Seabrook. It was nighttime at the moment, and the streets were basically abandoned, but he was not one to take any risks for now.

As he moved towards the center of the town, he was more and more perplexed by what he saw. The first part of the town he had walked through consisted purely of identical houses in boring beige colors. The lawns there had been perfectly trimmed and contained a plethora of colorful flowers, but Wyatt was still disgusted by it. As someone who had spent his entire life in the woods, he couldn't imagine living like this.

Further into the town, he suddenly felt as though he had stepped into another world. The houses here were smaller and more packed together. Besides that, these house almost looked run-down, but lively… Wyatt didn't know who lived here, but they had done their best to decorate their houses and give a sense of community to the place. He had to admit that he didn't really mind it…

"Hello." A voice suddenly said.

Wyatt nearly jumped up in alarm and he felt his eyes glow yellow as he turned to face whoever had manages to sneak up on him. To his astonishment, he only saw a little girl with pale skin and green hair looking up at him. At first, her eyes widened in shock when she undoubtedly noticed his eyes, but then she suddenly started smiling broadly.

"Wow! Your eyes are so cool!" The girl squealed, looking up at him.

Wyatt was still somewhat bewildered and was unsure of what to do. The girl had seen him, but she had not screamed or called out for help. He could not let himself get discovered before he'd have a chance to locate the alpha, but he also wasn't particularly enthusiastic about having to maybe hurt a little girl.

"What are you?" The girl continued, taking a step in his direction. "You don't look like a human… But you're also not a zombie…"

"Shh!" Wyatt shushed the girl, crouching down to be more on level with her. "Keep it down! Go away!"

"What are you?" The girl repeated, not scared or intimidated at all. "My name is Zoey, I live here…"

"Great!" Wyatt replied with a feigned smile. "Now scram!"

"Your teeth are so big!" Zoey said, still with such a big smile. "What's your name?"

Wyatt sighed and carefully looked around, but it seemed as though no one else had spotted him yet. "My name is Wyatt…"

"Nice to meet you, Wyatt. What are you?" Zoey asked again.

"You don't want to know kid…" Wyatt answered. "Now go back to your home!"

"I do want to know!" Zoey persisted, growing louder. "Tell me! Please tell me!"

Wyatt was almost ready to start pulling the hair out of his head. This girl didn't know when to quit. "Okay! Okay! Just… Will you just be quiet then?"

Zoey nodded, still smiling.

"I… I am a werewolf…" Wyatt told her, expecting her smile to turn into a wide-eyed look of terror at any second.

"A werewolf!? That's so cool!" Zoey squealed. "My dad has read me stories about werewolves! I didn't know they were real! I've always wanted to meet a werewolf!"

"Shh! Quiet!" Wyatt urged her, having to refrain himself from putting a hand over her mouth.

"I've never seen anyone like you before… What are you doing in Seabrook?" Zoey continued, still not thrown off.

"None of your business!" Wyatt sneered. "It's… It's, uh… It's secret…"

"Cool…" Zoey smiled. "Are you a spy?"

Wyatt sighed again, but did get an idea. The fastest way he would probably be able to continue his mission was if he would play along. "I am…" He told Zoey. "And I am on a very important mission, so I need you to be very quiet… And you can't tell anyone, okay?"

Zoey nodded enthusiastically, her smile growing even wider.

"Now, could you maybe tell me where Seabrook High is?" Wyatt inquired, figuring he might as well try to take advantage of the situation.

"That way…" Zoey whispered, pointing to Wyatt's right.

"Thank you." Wyatt said, showing his toothy grin. "Now scram!"

Now Zoey did do as she was told, running off and waving to him one more time before she disappeared around a corner.

Wyatt carefully breathed in and out, taking a moment to regain his composure before moving on. That had been too close. How could he have let a little girl sneak up on him like that? All he could do now was hope that she wouldn't tell anyone about him, or that if she did, that no one would believe her. He was also somewhat perplexed that she hadn't seemed scared or at all surprised to see him. She had just seemed, ehm, cheerful…

She had helped in a way though, as Wyatt now new to a certain extend where Seabrook High was. He ran through more streets, leaving the somewhat run-down part of the town to enter yet another way too neat and basic part of town. Again, he saw identical houses and perfect lawns, but ignored those as he kept himself hidden in the shadows.

There was another tricky moment when two people walked by, but this time Wyatt did manage to keep himself out of sight.

Eventually, he spotted a large building on the other side of a small park. After scanning the area for any possible onlookers, he quickly moved across and reached the building. Wyatt grinned as he read the large letters on the front of the building.

'_Seabrook High_'

He had found it… The building looked abandoned though. There weren't any lights, nor were there people. Wyatt walked around the building, trying a few doors but finding them all locked. Peering through a few windows, he saw empty classrooms and hallways. He looked around again, but saw nothing of any help. The wolves were creatures of the night, but these people were most likely active during the day.

He then reached into his pocket and took out the label that the girl in the woods had lost. The letters on the label and those on the school were the exact same, so he knew that he was at the right place. The right place… But maybe not the right time… He brought the label to his nose and sniffed it.

The wolves and him all had a good sense of smell, but not so good that they could track animals or people from miles away. If the girl was close however, Wyatt should at least get some kind of clue as to where…

He didn't get anything though… There were hundreds of scents in the air, so it was difficult for him to distinguish any specific trail. Annoyed and a little disappointed, Wyatt realized that he would probably have to hide somewhere until the humans would come out.

He looked around, but there wasn't really any proper hiding place around as far as he could see. The doors of the school were all closed, but Wyatt did spot a slightly opened window above him. Luckily for him, werewolves were excellent climbers and he had little trouble getting in. Once inside, the empty school almost eerily silent, he would just have to wait… Wait for the alpha to show up…


	5. Chapter 5: Monsters

**A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.**

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Monsters**

* * *

Wyatt did not know how long he eventually had to wait, all he knew was that the sun was already up and shining brightly by the time he woke up. As a hiding place, he had chosen the school's ridiculously spacious air duct system, which was a place he figured no one would look. After hours of trying to stay awake, he had eventually dozed off and had thus spent an entire night cooked up in a small metal box.

The sunlight, accompanied by loudly talking people and the shrill ringing of a school bell woke him up, though he did feel somewhat groggily. He had strategically crawled out to a certain point in the ducts where he would be able to spy on the main doors through the tiny slits in the vent.

Now, he saw dozens of people flood in through the doors, all talking loudly and enthusiastically to each other. Most looked like normal humans, the ones the elders had always described to the pack. They wore plain and boring clothing and all looked sort of similar to him…

There were others among that group as well though. These all had green hair, pale skin and completely mismatched outfits. They looked just like the guy he had seen in the woods along with the girl he presumed to be the great alpha, or the little girl he had met in the town during last night. Wyatt had no idea what these people were, if they even were people…

That girl from last night had mentioned the word zombie, which wasn't a word he had ever heard before…

Wyatt kept looking out over the entrance, where the steady flow of people kept growing smaller and smaller. He saw several humans in the same type of pink uniforms he had seen them wear in the woods. These people were often in groups and Wyatt kept his eyes peeled for the possibility that the great alpha would be among them.

She did show up eventually. In the crowd of brown, black, blonde and green hair, she stood out like a lily in a field of grass. Her hair was just as he remembered, as white as snow and just like the prophecy had described. Aside from her hair, Wyatt had to admit that she was very beautiful, especially the way she kept on smiling. She walked into the school with another girl in a pink uniform and two of those green-haired people behind her. Wyatt growled a little to himself as he recognized one of them as the guy who had shown up out of nowhere in the woods, the other one was a girl. From this distance, Wyatt had no chance of understanding what she was saying, so he simply kept his eyes on her.

When she and her group walked off to another hallway, Wyatt hastily scurried through the air duct in an attempt to keep up. He was so close! He could not let the great alpha out of his sight now!

By using a few more vents, he managed to somehow keep an eye on her. He watched as she waved goodbye to her human friend and the green-haired girl. She and the green-haired guy did walk on together for a little while longer, before they also eventually said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Wyatt's heart started beating faster as he realized that this was his chance. For now, the girl was all alone in an empty hallway, and he had no idea when other people could possibly walk by and ruin his plan.

The girl stopped at a notice board and examined some of the things written on there, so Wyatt searched for the nearest vent and slowly opened it. The soft creaking of the vent was almost enough to give away his position, but sounds from elsewhere in the school overshadowed it. He climbed out and landed on the floor below him almost soundlessly, looking over to make sure the girl had still not spotted him.

Before he could even make an attempt at an attempt to get to her, she turned away from him and walked off. Cursing to himself, Wyatt kept low to the ground and pursued her, making as little sound as possible. There was still no one else in the hallway aside from him and the girl, which was basically the only thing he had going for him as she kept on walking.

She eventually entered one of the first doors to the left and disappeared inside. Wyatt again cursed to himself and pressed his ear against the door, but heard nothing… Taking the risk, he slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open with as little sound as possible. Peeking around the corner, he saw what he could only describe as a dressing room, filled with pink lockers and benches.

She wasn't inside though, and Wyatt groaned in annoyance as he slipped into the room and closed the door behind himself. He quickly moved across the room, checking behind himself almost obsessively to make sure that he wasn't followed. On the other side of the room there was another door. Again he pressed his ear against the door and again he heard nothing. Again he opened the door almost painstakingly slowly and again he carefully peered around the corner.

The room the door led to was extremely large, with large windows letting in an abundance of sunlight, stands for people to sit on on either side of the room and a meticulously polished wooden floor. She stood in the middle of the room, dragging some kind of mat behind her. Wyatt looked around one more time, and then he shut the door behind him when he realized that they truly were alone now.

The girl looked up when she heard the door close, as Wyatt had made no effort to stay silent this time. She examined him, obviously a little thrown-off by his strange attire. Then their eyes met, and he saw her initial look of surprise and intrigue immediately be replaced by a look of pure fright.

"Y-you…" She stammered, taking a few shaky steps back. "I-I saw 'you' in the woods…"

Wyatt raised his eyebrows, unwillingly impressed that she managed to recognize him. After all, she could not have seen more than a quick flash of him. This only enhanced his feeling that this girl had to be the great alpha. And god, she was even more beautiful up close. "Calm down…" He said taking a step in her direction.

"Stay back!" The girl warned. "Who are you? Why are you here!? I-I have a whistle!" She continued, grabbing onto the whistle around her neck.

"Okay…" Wyatt said, raising his hands in a non-threatening manner. "I'm not here to hurt you or anything…"

"Who are you?" The girl persisted. "Why are you here?"

"My name is Wyatt…" He answered. "I'm here for you…"

The girl visibly paled. "Y-you… W-what are you?"

Wyatt was a little thrown off, as this girl asked the exact same question that Zoey, that little girl, had asked the night before. "I'm a werewolf…"

"Werewolves are real!?" The girl exclaimed, her eyes growing even wider.

"Well… Obviously…" Wyatt mumbled, gesturing at himself.

"What do you want with me?" The girl went on after a moment of silence.

"I, ehm…" Wyatt began, suddenly not sure where to begin. "I saw you in the woods… I… I've never seen anyone like you before…"

The girl did not reply, and she still looked frightened.

"I'm not gonna hurt you… I don't want to…" Wyatt promised her. "I, ehm… Here, I'll sit down…" He offered, stepping back and taking a seat on the stands.

This gesture visibly calmed the girl a little, as she seemed a bit more relaxed.

"Really… I am just here to talk… I didn't mean to scare you or anything… I just preferred it if no one else saw me…" Wyatt explained. "Sorry…" He added.

"Did you follow me? All the way from the woods?" The girl asked, stepping a little closer.

Wyatt was glad to see that she was willing to come closer and listen to him, but also realized that he needed to act fast. "I sort of tracked you…" He replied, grabbing the label of the girl's uniform he still had in his pocket. "This is yours, I believe… It got ripped off in the woods…"

"You tracked me? Just with that?" The girl questioned, coming even closer.

"Impressed?" Wyatt grinned, baring his teeth.

The girl stopped approaching him, seeming a bit more cautious again.

"Sorry." Wyatt repeated. "Force of habit… Again, I'm not here to hurt you…"

"Then why are you here?" The girl asked. "You said that you were here for me… What does that mean?"

Wyatt hesitated a little. If he would tell her everything, it meant spilling the beans on their necklaces, the moonstone and the prophecy… But he was a little scared that all that information could probably throw her off… He needed to play things cool… He needed to grab her interest, and maybe even her compassion, but not scare her off…

"Okay…" Wyatt mumbled, mainly to himself. "I live in the woods… With my pack…"

"You have a pack?" The girl interrupted him, apparently interested.

"Yes." Wyatt answered. "There are a few dozen of us… We live very isolated, and we rarely see any people… We knew that the town existed though, we just never went there…"

"You are the beasts…" The girl suddenly murmured, looking away from Wyatt for the first time since he entered the room.

"What?" Wyatt asked.

"We have legends here in Seabrook… Tales of dangerous beasts that the first settlers chased away to protect themselves…" The girl explained.

"Lies!" Wyatt shouted, again causing the girl to step back a little. "Sorry!" Wyatt immediately apologized. "It's just… Those are lies… Us werewolves, we were here first… The Seabrook settlers chased us away because they wanted this land for themselves…"

"Oh…" The girl mumbled in a compassionate tone. "I never knew… I'm so sorry…"

Wyatt unwillingly felt himself blushing. All the stories he had ever heard about humans always painted them in a bad light. He would surely not have expected the first human he'd ever met to act so compassionately towards werewolves. "Thanks…" He thus mumbled.

"So… You've never left the woods?" The girl asked.

"No. Not once." Wyatt answered.

"But you have now… Because of me?" She went on, sounding a little apprehensive.

"Yes." Wyatt replied. "You were the first human I have seen in years… But you were still… Special…" He added, gesturing at her.

"What? Because of my hair?" The girl inquired, nervously pulling on one of the loose strings surrounding her face.

"Exactly." Wyatt acknowledged. "Growing up, we were all told to stay away from humans, because they hate everything that's different from them… But then I saw you, and your hair… I knew you were different from them…"

"Who's them?" The girl asked, blushing a little but also appearing calmer than before.

"The rest…" Wyatt sneered. "The people who only want to see my kind either in cages or eradicated…"

"I'm not like that!" The girl immediately shook her head.

"I know that!" Wyatt reassured her, standing up and feeling confident enough to try to approach her. "I could see it in you… You're special, so I tracked you down to talk to you…"

"You came all the way out here to talk to me? B-because you believe that I'm special?" The girl was now openly blushing and started showing a small smile.

"Yes." Wyatt told her, coming even closer to her. "I know that if anyone can help me and my pack, that it's you…"

"M-me… H-help your pack?" The girl stammered. "How?"

"Many of my pack, most actually… They're sick… They're sick, and we can't help them…" Wyatt spoke, seeing the girl's eyes turn sad. "Really, I didn't know what to do… But now I believe that you can help us."

"What can I do?" The girl asked, sounding both eager and terrified at the same time.

"I want you to meet the rest of the pack…" Wyatt eagerly suggested. "When I left… They, ehm, were a little cautious… A little unsure… But I want to show them! Show them that we still have a future and that we can work together with humans to get there…"

"So… You really believe that humans and werewolves can work together, even after everything that has happened?" The girl questioned, though she sounded more hopeful than skeptical.

"And I believe that you are the key." Wyatt said with a smile.

The girl now started smiling broadly, and so did Wyatt. He could not believe how well this had gone thus far. "What was your name again?" She then asked.

"Wyatt… And yours?" He replied.

"Addison." She answered with a smile, and she stuck out her hand for him to shake.

Right as Wyatt wanted to grasp her hand, he suddenly heard the loud banging noise of a door opening behind him.

"Addison!" Someone yelled and Wyatt immediately turned around to see the same green-haired guy he had seen in the woods and earlier today storm right at him.

"Zed!" Addison yelled at the same moment that Wyatt let his wolf powers flow through him, causing both his yellow eyes and his necklace to shine brightly.

"Get away from her!" The boy, he now knew was named Zed, shouted before crashing into him and sending him flying.

Wyatt nimbly landed on all fours though and immediately jumped back upright. Growling and baring his teeth, he showed his claws as he approached his green-haired opponent.

"Zed! Stop! Stop!" Addison pleaded as she went to stand in between him and Wyatt.

"Addie! Careful!" Zed urged as he grabbed Addison and pulled her behind him, away from Wyatt.

Wyatt looked between Zed and Addison. He saw a determined and angry expression on his face, and a scared but rebellious one on hers. Realizing that he should not show his violent side to her, Wyatt calmed himself down and stepped back almost apologetically.

"I am not here to hurt anyone…" He told Zed, raising his arms defensively. "That includes Addison… I don't want to hurt her…"

"W-what?" Zed mumbled, staring between Wyatt and Addison. "W-who are you? Who is he!?" He then directed himself to Addison.

"Zed! Zed! Calm down!" Addison urged, pulling on Zed's arms. "This… This is Wyatt… He's a werewolf… But really, he means us no harm…"

"A werewolf!? Addison, there is a freaking werewolf in our school!" Zed exclaimed, still not taking his eyes off of Wyatt.

"I know that!" Addison retorted, slapping Zed on the arm. "But he doesn't want to hurt us!"

"H-he's dangerous!" Zed snapped.

"He is not!" Addison argued with an annoyed undertone.

Despite himself, Wyatt felt very gratified watching Addison defend him like that.

"Zed! Wyatt was the one I saw in the woods… I thought that it was a monster, but it was just him…" Addison went on.

"So you did see a monster!" Zed countered.

"He's a werewolf!" Addison yelled.

"He's a monster!" Zed exclaimed.

"You're one to talk…" Wyatt sneered, feeling like he's watched on for long enough.

Zed stared daggers at Wyatt as he tried to rush towards him again, but Addison blocked his path.

"Zed! Stop! Please stop!" She begged, clutching him by his collar.

"Why are you defending him!?" Zed asked her.

"Because he didn't do anything wrong!" Addison answered, finally succeeding in keeping Zed at bay. "Zed! Yes, he's a werewolf, but what is wrong with that? I thought we tried to not judge anyone by what they are or what they look like…"

Zed stopped struggling and looked down at Addison with a thoughtful, but still somewhat opposing look. "B-but he came all the way out here…"

"His people, his pack needs help!" Addison tried to explain.

"S-so why did he sneak in here?" Zed questioned.

"Because most people here would throw me in a cage simply because I'm a werewolf." Wyatt answered. "But not Addison, she's special…"

"Why do you know her name?" Zed asked.

"I told him!" Addison groaned. "Zed, he's not a bad guy…"

"You believe him? Seriously?" Zed sputtered.

"Why would I lie?" Wyatt retorted, though he did blush a little. Everything he had told Addison was the truth, it just hadn't been the whole truth… "Why would I risk my hide coming here if it wasn't for something serious?"

"B-because you want to get to Addison!" Zed said, pointing his finger.

Wyatt pretended to sigh in disappointment, even though Zed wasn't that far off the truth. "Yes, I am here for her! But because I believe she can help us! Addison is special! She's not like other humans… She's understanding, she's kind and she's brave… Wouldn't you agree?"

Zed opened his mouth, but no words came out as he shifted his eyes between Addison and Wyatt. He naturally could not disagree, especially since Addison began smiling broadly after Wyatt's words. "I mean…" Zed mumbled, visibly confused. "I mean, she is… But I still don't get why you would come all the way out here…"

"Because we need help…" Wyatt explained, a little annoyed that he had to tell the entire story again. "Our pack is sick… We grow fewer in numbers with every passing year… We need help from the humans, and I believe that Addison is the key…"

"You got all that from seeing her once in the woods?" Zed asked skeptically.

"Yes." Wyatt answered. "I saw her… And her hair… We've never seen anyone like her before…" He added, pointing out his own small lock of white amidst his otherwise brown hair.

Before Zed could once again rebut, Addison spoke up. "Zed, I know that you have a lot of questions… But Wyatt has told me about his life and the other werewolves… Zed, I want to help him…"

"B-but…" Zed still stammered.

"He asked for my help! I want to help him!" Addison clarified.

"But it's, ehm… It's too dangerous!" Zed replied. "You going out into the wilderness with just a bunch of werewolves…"

"Who said anything about her coming out into the wilderness?" Wyatt spoke up, causing both Addison and Zed to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Zed questioned.

* * *

"Wyatt! What happened? Did everything work out? Where is the alpha!?" Willa bombarded him with questions as soon as he had sufficiently stepped into the den.

"There were, ehm… Some complications…" Wyatt explained as the pack gathered around him.

"She's not the alpha, is she? What? Did she chase you away?" Willa asked with a grin.

"I do not know for certain yet if she's the alpha…" Wyatt answered. "But we can still find out…"

"What?" Willa questioned.

"I have talked to her… I was right, she is not like all the other humans at all… She's not scared of werewolves, she wants to help us…" Wyatt spoke.

Most of the werewolves began whispering to each other excitedly, most with broad smiles on their faces.

"Did you ask her about the moonstone?" Willa inquired, stepping closer to Wyatt.

"No. I did not tell her about the moonstone, or the prophecy for that matter…" Wyatt replied.

"Then what was the point of your little visit?" Willa spat.

"I first needed to earn her trust…" Wyatt explained. "I could not just lay out all that information before getting to know her!"

"You could have taken her here! You know, like we planned?" Willa sneered.

"There were too many people there, I had no chance of taking her here. I met other people too, people close to her, they wouldn't let me take her here as well…" Wyatt grunted.

"In other words, you failed your mission…" Willa sneered.

"Not yet…" Wyatt repeated.

"Our deal was that you would bring back the alpha! Our deal was that she would take us to the moonstone!" Willa now started shouting.

"Deals change! I am very sorry, Willa… Things don't always go the way you plan them…" Wyatt replied.

"So, what changed? What genius plan did you come up with?" Willa challenged.

"We…" Wyatt began, already groaning inwardly from the inevitable reactions he knew he would get. "We are gonna join their school…"

For a second, all wolves just stared at him. Then they all burst out in a giant fit of laughter.

"Us!? Join their school!? Have you gone crazy!?" Willa howled, pressing a hand to her stomach in a somewhat exaggerated manner.

"It was the only way…" Wyatt said while the rest kept on laughing.

"You're joking, right? I mean, you have to be…" Willa snickered. "Tell me, are you joking, or have you actually gone crazy?"

"Neither, but thanks for the support…" Wyatt snarled.

"It's a pretty dumb plan, dude…" Wynter said from Willa's side.

"I haven't even properly explained it yet…" Wyatt retorted.

"I don't think you have to… We've heard enough…" Willa scoffed.

"Are you all truly willing to let this once in a lifetime chance slip, just because you're afraid of going to school!?" Wyatt challenged.

"We are not afraid!" Willa immediately fell out at him.

"Then what's stopping us!? That girl, her name is Addison by the way, that girl is the great alpha! She will help us, but first we need to earn her trust!" Wyatt explained.

"By joining her school?" Willa inquired.

"She has this, uh, annoying friend who will not let her into the woods under any circumstance… The only way we'll all get to see her and get her to help us is by going into that rotten town and acting like we want to fit in…" Wyatt went on.

"And they'll let us?" Willa asked.

"I talked to Addison about it… She was on board, she really wants to help. She said that she'd talk it over with some people, but that we're already as good as in." Wyatt told the pack.

"I don't believe it!" Willa snapped. "Why would those horrid humans suddenly want to have us 'fit in' instead of wanting to skin us alive?"

"Oh, yeah!" Wyatt exclaimed. "So, they have zombies now, did you not know?"

"Zombies?" Willa pulled up an eyebrow. "What are zombies?"

"They had some weird accident in their powerplant, and some of their people changed into flesh-eating monsters! They call them zombies." Wyatt recited.

"Cool!" Wynter grinned.

"But now, the zombies have learned to fit in, and they live together with the humans. It's like the people there started accepting monsters all of the sudden!" Wyatt went on.

"And those 'zombies', they don't want to eat human flesh anymore?" Willa asked.

"No, they have these, ehm, bracelets or something… A way to keep them from running wild…" Wyatt explained.

"So, basically a leash? A way for the humans to keep them in check?" Willa spat.

"They see it was a way for them to live in peace…" Wyatt opposed. "But that's all beside the point… These zombies show that the humans have learned to accept monsters… To a certain point, that is…"

"I still don't trust it… Those humans, after what they've done to our kind… You want us to become buddies like nothing's ever happened?" Willa sneered.

"Yes! Until we find the moonstone so we can survive!" Wyatt yelled. "Willa, would you honestly let your pride get in the way of the wellbeing of the pack?"

"It's not pride, it's common sense!" Willa retorted, the other wolves again following their argument with interest. "Going out there would mean walking into one big wolf trap! They will hunt us down and lock us up!"

"They will not… They've gone soft… They like to think that they're such an evolved species, and they want to show others how good they are. They will be arrogant enough to believe that we want nothing more than to live in their 'perfect' little town…" Wyatt grinned.

"These people… Is your supposed alpha one of them?" Willa questioned.

"No… She's special… Honest… Good… How a real alpha should be…" Wyatt smiled.

Willa exchanged a quick look with Wynter, who shrugged but did appear to be genuinely interested.

"You won't know until you meet her…" Wyatt said, spreading his arms. "And the only way to meet her, is to join me and become a student at Seabrook High."

Willa blew a loose strand of hair from her face as she stood there frowning with her arms crossed. "You're absolutely certain?"

"She wants to help us!" Wyatt persisted. "How many humans do you know that have ever wanted to help us?"

Willa bit her lip and again looked over at Wynter and the other wolves. "I say we put it to a vote again… I will respect the pack's decision…"

"I can agree to that…" Wyatt nodded.

"Alright…" Willa spoke up, addressing the entire pack. "We vote again! Anyone who wants to follow Wyatt's plan, infiltrate the town and meet the supposed alpha, raise your hand!"

Wyatt immediately put up his own hand, and was immediately followed by Willa to his surprise.

"What?" She asked with a feigned smile. "You convinced me."

Aside from Willa, Wynter and about two-third of the pack also raised their hands, after which they all looked at each other somewhat apologetically.

"It's decided then…" Willa mumbled. "Those who wish to remain in the den can do so, just keep running things the way we always do. Those who wish to join Wyatt and me, pack up your stuff and get ready to meet this great alpha…"

"You won't regret this!" Wyatt enthusiastically said as he walked up to and hugged Willa.

"And you better be right, or it'll be the end of us all…" Willa replied in a darker tone.

Wyatt blushed a little, but also smiled broadly. "Wolves!" He then shouted. "We will find the power that's inside of us! We own the night!"

"We own the night!" All the wolves cheered before they all raised their head and began howling loudly.


	6. Chapter 6: Laws

**A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.**

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Laws**

* * *

"Addison! This is unacceptable!" Addison's mom, Missy, said with a raised voice, looking down sternly at her daughter who sat quietly on the couch. For now at least…

Addison had just told her mother and her father, Dale, about her day, and predominantly about her encounter with Wyatt. She and the aforementioned werewolf had come up with a plan together to get the werewolves into Seabrook. In order for Addison to properly meet them, the werewolves would attend Seabrook High with her. Addison saw no fault with this plan, since having both werewolves and zombies at the school would probably only help her in her cause to increase diversity and acceptance in the town.

"I really don't see the problem…" Addison feigned innocence as she simply shrugged in response.

"Inviting werewolves over to Seabrook! Inviting them into the school! You don't see a problem with that!?" Missy snapped.

"They needed help… Who am I to refuse them? And by the way, the woods are in the school district, so they have every right to attend." Addison fired back.

"It's not about where they come from, it's about what they are…" Missy groaned. "Addie, these things are not like the zombies… We have no way of controlling them…"

"Why would we want to 'control' them in the first place!?" Addison retorted in an almost disgusted tone. "And they're not things! They're a proud pack and they have just as much right to come to Seabrook and to school as you or me!"

"They're beasts!" Missy countered. "Our ancestors bravely fought them off when they raided the settlement and those wolves have kept to the woods ever since!"

"Wait, you knew!?" Addison exclaimed. "You knew they were out there all this time?"

"Of course we knew." Missy sneered. "As mayor, it is my duty to keep this town safe! We always knew that those savages were out there in the forest, and we graciously let them live their lives as long as they left us alone!"

"They are not savages!" Addison replied. "They are misunderstood! We have simply been blinded by this stupid rivalry that has been going on for far too long!"

"They are dangerous!" Missy stuck to her point.

"If they really are that dangerous, why have they never even set foot in Seabrook for as long as anyone can remember!? Why did Wyatt not attack me when he saw me in the forest, or when he looked for me at school?" Addison challenged.

"I do not trust that boy!" Missy immediately hissed. "You said that he tracked you all the way from the woods, and that he infiltrated Seabrook High without any of us knowing!"

"Because he needed help!" Addison pleaded.

"But why you!? Why come to you?" Missy almost cried.

"He thought I was special…" Addison mumbled with a small smile. "He said that he saw the kindness in me."

Missy scoffed. "He must have some ulterior motive… Maybe he somehow knew that I was your mother… Maybe he's trying to get to me and your father…"

"That's ridiculous!" Addison sneered.

"Dale! Say something!" Missy then begged of her husband, who had sat silently in a corner up to this point, reading a newspaper.

Dale chewed his cheek a little as he lowered his paper and examined his wife and daughter. "Dear… I already told you that we don't have enough intel on the situation yet…"

"I-Intel!? Dale, these beasts just entered Seabrook without anyone stopping them… People could have gotten hurt! Your daughter could have gotten hurt!" Missy rambled.

"He did not want to hurt me!" Addison opposed. "He didn't hurt anyone!"

"As far as you know!" Missy said with a pointed finger.

"Mom, why are you so against this!?" Addison inquired, gesturing wildly with her hands. "I have met a werewolf and he was a really nice guy… Have you ever even met a werewolf?"

"They are not allowed in this town." Missy answered curtly.

"Actually, dear…" Dale spoke up, finally rising from his chair. "The anti-monster laws are gone… Thanks to Addison for the most part… According to the law, these werewolves are as welcome as anyone in Seabrook."

Addison squealed on the inside as her father supported her point, but did get back to reality immediately when she saw her mother's furious stare.

"You dare to defend them!? After they snuck into the town without you knowing? Aren't your men supposed to patrol the streets?" Missy nagged.

"Not as much since the new laws passed." Dale answered. "Zombie- Or monster patrols have diminished over eighty percent since Zombietown opened up to the public."

"Well, those laws should be reinstated then…" Missy said, almost stomping her feet. "All anti-monster should be reinstated until further notice!"

"What!?" Addison loudly exclaimed. "Mom, that is so unfair!"

"That might be a little overboard, dear…" Dale added.

"I only want to protect this town!" Missy stated. "If that means reinstating some laws, then so be it!"

"But Zed and I have worked for months to get rid of those laws! You can't just do this!" Addison pleaded.

"You leave me no choice!" Missy fired back. "Your father and I have been more than lenient regarding you and that boy, but we are still your parents!"

"That 'boy' is named Zed!" Addison snapped. "And what do you mean 'lenient'!?"

"He is still a zombie, sweetie." Dale said.

"And?" Addison replied, feeling the anger boil up inside her.

"Now, you must understand how it feels for your mother and I to see you with someone like, ehm… Someone like that…" Dale added.

"Wow, really?" Addison protested. "You're still hung up about grandpa getting his ear bitten off?"

"It was horrible!" Missy shrieked. "You wouldn't know, but the zombies weren't always as complacent as they are now!"

"They shouldn't have to be complacent in the first place!" Addison retorted. "They should be able to lead their own lives! Just like the werewolves!"

"You obviously have no idea how society works, dear." Missy told her daughter. "This isn't high school, where everyone happily fits in. Everyone has their place, and it's our duty as humans to preserve the peace and prosperity of Seabrook."

"And the zombies? The werewolves? What part do they play?" Addison challenged.

"Whatever part they want, as long as they conform to our rules." Missy answered.

"And what if they don't? What if they want to have their own lives?" Addison went on.

"We, as humans, have the right to protect ourselves from anything that threatens us!" Missy fired back.

"They don't threaten us!" Addison was now basically screaming. "It's all in your head!"

"Enough!" Missy snapped. "Addison, we have heard you, but this is a decision that adults will have to make…"

"Mom…" Addison pleaded.

"Addie, this is for your protection. You'll understand when you're older." Missy told her daughter.

Addison wanted to protest again, but this time her father intervened.

"Dear…" He said to Missy. "If you are serious about reinstating the anti-monster laws, I need to know what to expect…"

"All of it." Missy immediately said. "I want a reestablished curfew for the zombies, double the amount of monster patrols in and around the city and heavily restricted access to Zombietown."

"Mom!" Addison exclaimed, totally shocked by her mother's plans.

"I want no one entering or leaving Zombietown without us knowing, do you understand?" Missy asked her husband.

"I do." Dale nodded. "But it will be tough, since many of our inhabitants have taken a liking to the neighborhood. Some have even opened up stores there."

"Hmm, then they might object…" Missy pondered, stroking her chin. "Fine, humans can still enter Zombietown at will, but zombies will not be allowed to leave."

"You can't do that!" Addison kept on protesting, growing more and more frustrated with how all her statements fell on deaf men's ears.

"What about the school, dear?" Dale asked. "Dozens of zombies attend Seabrook High as we speak."

"They will all be suspended until further notice." Missy stated.

Addison felt as though her heart had just stopped beating. Had her mother officially become paranoid enough to deny all of the zombie children their education, even when they had literally not done anything wrong!?

"Dear…" Dale began, seeing Addison's shocked expression. "Don't you think that, ehm… Don't you think that goes a little too far? I mean, there are zombies on the football team now, and on the cheer squad… Cutting them could really damage our school image…"

Addison felt a pinch of hope. It was as if her father was trying to salvage the situation at least a little.

"Hmm, you could be right…" Missy contemplated. "Okay, the zombies will be allowed to attend school, but that will be the only occasion on which they'll be allowed to leave Zombietown. They will be allowed to join the cheer squad and the football team, but no further extracurricular activities! That means no prawn!"

"What!?" Addison shrieked, balling her fists in anger and astonishment.

"No prawn for the zombies!" Missy replied. "And that's me being nice!"

"Actually, dear…" Dale once again interrupted. "The school president is the one who mostly makes decisions on school policy and school activities."

Missy huffed in obvious annoyance. "Naturally… But that doesn't matter. Bucky will of course become school president and he will agree with my plans…"

Addison could not believe what she was hearing. Her mother was actually planning on using her family connections to push through her political ideas!

"Mom, you can't do this!" Addison once again begged.

Missy turned to Addison with a tight-lipped expression. "Addison, your father and I supported you when you took off your wig, undoing years of our efforts to let you have a normal life…"

"I was scared and miserable!" Addison protested, but her mother talked right through her.

"We even supported you when you started hanging out with that zombie boy…" Missy continued.

"His name is Zed!" Addison again yelled, still with no response.

"But this, the werewolves! This is the final drop!" Missy stated. "You bring disorder to this town and to this family, and I have had enough!"

"I'm fighting for change!" Addison objected.

"You are grounded!" Missy shouted, pointing towards the stairs.

Addison pulled up her eyebrows in complete astonishment. Never in her life had she been grounded. "What?"

"You are grounded! Go to your room!" Missy reiterated.

"Mom! Dad!" Addison pleaded.

Dale looked over at his wife, who was still breathing heavily in anger. "Do as your mother says, sweetie…"

"Dad!" Addison repeated.

"And hand in your phone!" Missy ordered, holding out her hand. "No contact with that boy!"

Addison could do nothing aside from simply staring open-mouthed at both her parents. When she had thought of her little plan to get the werewolves into Seabrook High, she could not have imagined that it would backfire so spectacularly. A part of her mind thought of conceding, but then she remembered that she had already given Wyatt her word. The werewolves were coming, and she would fight to have them allowed into the town.

"His name is Zed…" Addison mumbled as she begrudgingly handed her phone to her mother.

"To your room, now!" Missy again ordered.

Addison threw one more foul look at her mother before stomping up the stairs to her room, where she slammed the door before letting herself fall roughly onto her bed. She screamed into her pillow and stomped her feet on her mattress, all fed up with the injustice of the whole situation.

She didn't cry yet, but did feel a stinging pain in her chest which she guessed could only be from anger. She was also disappointed, mostly with her mother and the system, but also a little bit with herself. She had promised Wyatt that the werewolves could come to Seabrook, that they would be welcome… Now she would undoubtedly let them down…

A knock on her door momentarily distracted her from her troubled thoughts, but she did not answer.

"Addie?" Her father's voice said as he entered the room. "Addie, I'm sorry for what happened back there…"

"Why did you agree with her?" Addison asked in a soft tone. "I thought you liked the zombies…"

"I do, honey…" Dale spoke, sitting down on the foot end of Addison's bed.

"Then why did you not try to stop her?" Addison inquired, removing her head from her pillow.

"This is all temporary…" Dale tried to assure her. "The werewolves need some time to adapt, your mother needs some time to cool down and then everything will go back to the way it's supposed to be…"

"How? The werewolves aren't even allowed in the town…" Addison moped.

"They are, however, allowed to go to school…" Dale stated.

"What!?" Addison exclaimed, immediately sitting up straight.

"Your mother said so herself. The zombies, which means all monsters, are allowed to go to school and join the cheer squad and football team. And, as you so graciously mentioned, the werewolves live in the school district and are thus able to attend." Dale grinned.

"Are you serious!?" Addison asked, now smiling excitedly.

"They are furthermore legally allowed in Zombietown and I will inform my men that they should not harass or retain any werewolf or zombie that does not cause a disturbance. I'm sorry, sweetie, but that's all I can do for now…" Dale concluded.

"Thank you!" Addison squealed as she hugged her father tightly.

"I will try to talk some sense into your mother, as well as the other city council members… But I'm afraid that I won't be able to dissuade Bucky from what he plans on doing as school president… So, I would still prepare for a prawn without your, uh, friend…" Dale went on.

Addison let go off her father and sat back upright. "His name is Zed…" She said for what felt like the tenth time this evening. "Why can't you just accept him?"

"You're our little girl, Addie…" Dale said after a long sigh. "We only want the best for you, and being with a zombie… It will always carry complications…"

"But that's what Zed and I are fighting against, don't you get that? We want a future where those complications won't exist…" Addison replied in a sad tone.

"And that's a course worth fighting for…" Dale acknowledged. "But the town's ideals won't change overnight… So, I just need to know if you would be prepared to live life as an outcast to the people of Seabrook?"

"I already am an outcast…" Addison sighed, twirling a lock of her white hair.

"You are perfect, just the way you are…" Dale almost whispered, softly squeezing Addison's shoulder.

"Zed keeps telling me that as well." Addison told her father.

"Well, then maybe he's not as bad as your mother and I thought…" Dale shrugged.

"Dad, I'd like to be alone for a moment, okay?" Addison asked.

"Sure, sweetie…" Dale nodded before standing up, looking at her one more time and leaving the room.

Addison lay down on her bed again, taking in the heated conversation she'd had with her parents. Her mother had almost seemed maniacal in the way she opposed Addison's plans to allow werewolves into Seabrook, but she had always been somewhat of a traditionalist… Her father seemed to at least understand her point, but he was also still somewhat caught up in Seabrook's past ideals, and those weren't easy to get rid of.

* * *

"Addison! Addison!" Zed shouted as he sprinted towards her, shoving away many people as he tried to get to her.

"Zed…" Addison said in a sad tone once he was close enough.

"Addison, they've closed up Zombietown again!" Zed told her in an almost panicky tone. "The patrols are back! They're not letting anyone out! All of the human shops can't allow zombies in anymore! What's going on!?"

"It's my mom…" Addison sighed, before Zed could continue his rant. "She freaked out about the werewolves and reinstated most of the old anti-monster laws…"

"What!?" Zed exclaimed. "But we worked so hard to get rid of those…"

"That's what I said. But she's stubborn… Dad said it was all temporary, but I just can't know with mom…" Addison replied. "How's everyone taking it?"

"Eliza is out on a warpath…" Zed groaned. "She got her megaphone out again and is rallying zombies to her cause… Most of the others are taking it well enough… Dad still has his job, and so do the other zombies, so they're just gonna live their lives… They're used to this stuff by now…"

"They shouldn't have to be used to this…" Addison protested. "They shouldn't have to live in fear…"

"Come here…" Zed said as he pulled her in for a hug. "We'll get through this… Surely the town will eventually lose some of its stupidity."

Addison snickered despite herself as she squeezed Zed for a moment. "I'm glad to see you still have that positive outlook."

"Well, I am still allowed to go to school, and see you…" Zed grinned.

"Yeah, thanks to dad by the way… Mom wanted to go full megalomaniac, but dad managed to keep some of the zombie rights intact." Addison recounted.

"Yeah, my dad talked to him as well." Zed nodded. "At least the zombie patrol won't randomly retain citizens."

"That's a very slight compensation." Addison shrugged.

"Still, I'm happy to finally have you in front of me!" Zed said, suddenly enthusiastic. "Addie, I know that we've not that much time together, with the bus crash and the werewolves and all…"

"Zed…" Addison groaned, but he talked right through her.

"I never stopped thinking about you while you were away at cheer camp. And even though my surprise kinda got ruined, I don't give up easily…" Zed went on, going down on one knee.

"Zed…" Addison repeated, but again he did not pay her any mind.

"Addison, will you make the luckiest zombie in the world and be my date to prawn?" Zed asked, grasping Addison's hand and looking up at her with twinkling eyes.

"Zed…" Addison sighed, though she did crack a smile. "No…"

"Great!" Zed exclaimed. "We'll get… Wait! No?"

"No…" Addison repeated. "My mom… Along with the anti-monster laws, she forbid zombies or any monsters from going to prawn…"

Zed still seemed somewhat shocked, and no sound escaped his open mouth.

"But we're going to fight this, Zed!" Addison reassured him. "Once the werewolves prove that they're not a threat to anyone, things can go back to the way they're supposed to be…"

"T-the werewolves are still coming?" Zed questioned.

"Yes, of course… I'm not just gonna abandon them…" Addison answered.

"But… How? The town's on lockdown…" Zed pondered.

"Zombies, and all monsters, are still allowed to go to school and Zombietown, meaning that the werewolves are still coming…" Addison proudly said.

"Oh…" Zed mumbled, not looking as thrilled as Addison had hoped he would. "So, they're still coming to school… And they can visit Zombietown…"

"Yes, isn't that great?" Addison inquired, hoping to get a more positive response.

"Ehm, yeah… Yeah, totally…" Zed replied, feigning a smile. "But wait… That's why you said no? Because of the anti-monster laws?"

"Yeah…" Addison answered, suddenly seeing a broad smile appear on Zed's face. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because when you said no, I thought that you didn't like me anymore… But the problem is just a bunch of bloodthirsty werewolves! We can so fix that!" Zed smirked.

Addison rolled her eyes, but did crack a smile. "They're not bloodthirsty… And I need you to help me prove that to everyone…"

Zed took a deep breath, shuffling on his feet. "Are you absolutely sure that we can trust them?"

"Zed…" Addison said in a warning tone.

"I know… I know that you trust them… And him…" Zed mumbled, obviously referring to Wyatt.

"I need you on my side… Now more than ever…" Addison pleaded, batting her eyelashes.

"I'll be there…" Zed nodded, squeezing her hand softly. "And I will find a way to get us to prawn!"

"Or we could miss it together?" Addison proposed.

"I'm not letting you miss prawn! You've looked forward to this your entire life!" Zed protested.

"I'm not going if you can't go!" Addison objected.

"Well, I like you too much not to let you go!" Zed sneered.

"Well, I like you too much to leave you behind! I'm so not going!" Addison challenged.

"Ugh, you guys even fight like the perfect couple…" A voice from behind Addison scoffed.

"How's it going, Eliza?" Addison asked with a smile as she saw the green-haired girl approach her and Zed.

"You know, fighting injustice has got me busy…" Eliza shrugged.

"And looking good doing it, Zom-bae." Addison giggled.

Eliza smiled in response, but then turned serious. "Did you know about all these anti-monster laws being reinstated?"

"It's my mom…" Addison groaned again. "The news about the werewolves completely freaked her out and she doesn't care that the zombies are being unjustly victimized…"

"Well, I can't be certain about the werewolves yet…" Eliza pondered. "But I, as a zombie, won't stand for this…"

"Neither will I." Addison confidently replied. "I don't care what the laws say, the werewolves are still coming."

"For real? That plan wasn't cancelled?" Eliza asked.

"No, they're going to join Seabrook High." Addison explained.

"Does the school know?" Eliza continued, though she did start smiling.

"My parents know, and they should have told the principal…" Addison clarified. "I don't know when they're gonna announce it, but it should be soon. Mom wasn't thrilled that I outsmarted her stupid laws, but I don't really care…"

"Addison's a stubborn one." Zed grinned.

"Never would have guessed…" Eliza smirked. "And that so-called fight you just had, was that about prawn?"

"Yeah, did you hear that we can't go anymore?" Zed asked.

"Yeah, Bucky was already gloating near the entrance." Eliza answered, rolling her eyes. "The election for school president hasn't even started yet, and he's already planning to reshape the school in his image…"

As if on cue, Bucky and Jacey turned around the nearest corner and walked in their direction.

"I'm thinking the student president should get his own corner office… Let's see if we can move out the math department… Did you write that down?" Bucky stated as he stepped on.

"Done!" Jacey mumbled, scribbling down notes almost frantically.

"Addison!" Bucky exclaimed with a wide smile. "And your zombie friends… How lovely… Now, I'm sure that you have all heard the news about prawn…"

"We have…" Addison nodded.

"Well, let me be the first to say, sorry not sorry…" Bucky went on, still smiling broadly.

"You didn't even make that rule." Eliza scoffed.

"But I can reinforce it when I become president." Bucky stated. "And when I become president, you will also always be able to cheer for me, cuz."

"I can't wait…" Addison murmured, rolling her eyes.

"Cheer up, possible new cheer captain." Bucky told Addison. "You do still want to become cheer captain, right?"

"Of course!" Addison immediately piped up

"Great!" Bucky went on, snapping his fingers to Jacey. "Be sure to attend my official nomination this afternoon… Bucky for president!" He added as Jacey handed him a few flyers, which Bucky then shoved in the hands of Addison, Zed and Eliza. "Okay, let's keep my nomination understated, yet extravagant and flashy…" He then told Jacey as they walked off.

"I feel violated." Eliza sneered as she examined Bucky's bright pink flyer.

"Ugh, I get you…" Addison moped as she tossed the flyer away. "I feel like cheer could be so much more than just pom-pomming for Bucky…"

"Then you make it what you want it to be when you become captain." Zed encouraged her.

"If I become captain…" Addison retorted as they started walking for the cafeteria.

"Come on, who's more perpetually peppy and annoyingly bubbly than you?" Eliza teased.

Addison grinned, but felt her smile drip right from her face when they turned a corner and ran right into Lacey and Stacey, who were in the midst of putting up an enlarged version of Bucky's flyer on a wall.

"Oh, look who it is…" Stacey said in a sassy tone when she noticed Addison.

"The 'wannabe' cheer captain…" Lacey added.

"Is this your way of sucking up to Bucky?" Eliza sneered, nodding towards the poster.

"No one asked you anything." Stacey scoffed.

"Too bad, because I love having opinions." Eliza challenged, stepping towards the Aceys before Zed dragged her back.

"You hang with the wrong crowd…" Lacey told Addison. "Once we're cheer captains, you're so off the team."

"And if I become cheer captain, you'll be welcome to stay. Because I'll be making cheer about bringing people together." Addison retorted.

"That's awful trash talk." Stacey snickered.

"I know, right?" Lacey added. "You… You will never be cheer captain, freak…"

Addison kept eye contact with Lacey, but also felt a slight blush creep up on her cheeks.

"See ya!" Both the Aceys then said as they simultaneously turned around.

"Don't pay attention to them…" Zed whispered as he softly squeezed Addison's shoulder.

"I won't…" Addison mumbled, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.

"They're just jealous!" Zed added, stroking Addison's upper arm. "Jealous that they could never be as kind, as smart or as beautiful as you…

Addison started blushing again, but now because of Zed's compliments.

"They don't have a braincell between them." Eliza joined in. "Why did you not let me scratch their eyes out?" She then asked Zed.

"Because we need to be on our best behavior…" Zed answered. "That will be the only way of getting these anti-monster laws reversed… And then I can take Addison to prawn…"

"We can always crash it!" Eliza enthusiastically proposed. "I mean, we can't make the rules, but we can break them!"

"But we can make the rules!" Zed suddenly exclaimed, causing both Addison and Eliza to look at him with surprised expressions. "We just need the right leader…"


	7. Chapter 7: Elections

**A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.**

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Elections**

* * *

"Right, ehm, hello everyone…" Principal Lee spoke into her microphone as she addressed the students who were all packed together in the school's main hall. "Welcome to this quite 'special' school assembly… As you might have heard, there are some important announcements we have to discuss, but fear not, I will not bore you to death…"

Zed rolled his eyes. Principal Lee had never been the strongest public speaker, no matter how much she always tried to engage with her students.

"As you all know…" Principal Lee continued. "We have yet another election for school president coming up. Sign-ups for the position have been open for a few weeks, and yet we only have one candidate so far… So, today is your last chance to throw your hat into the ring, as they say… So, are there any more nominees for school president? Just a reminder that being part of student council means that we'll get to hang… So, anybody? Anybody wanna hang?"

Zed sighed deeply, almost thinking that prawn could not be worth the effort of running for school president. Then he looked over to where Addison stood among her fellow cheerleaders, and he was once again reminded why he was doing what he was doing.

He was going to run for school president!

Eliza had said that they could always break the rules, since they could not make them. But what if they could make the rules? Naturally, if Bucky would become school president, then they as zombies would have a very small chance of attending prawn legally. Of course Eliza suggested that they could always crash prawn, but Zed feared that such a show of disobedience would do the already fragile relations between humans and zombies no good.

Thus far, everyone at school had heard about the anti-monster laws being reinstated, but no one knew why. Of course, he, Addison and some of their closest friends knew, but the news about the werewolves had not yet been made public as far as Zed knew.

The situation would be far from fixed if he would be able to become president, but at least he'd be able to take Addison to prawn and get their photo up on the prawn wall of fame!

"Now can I get all nominees on the stage, please?" Principal Lee requested.

Music immediately erupted from behind Zed on the stands, where the school's marching band began playing a celebratory tune led by Bonzo. At that moment, the cheerleaders near the stage also began their chant, mostly just waving their pompoms around and yelling enthusiastically. Addison was the only one who toned it down a bit, mainly just clapping as she watched on somberly.

Bucky made his grand entrance, jumping through the school's main doors and doing a couple of flips as he made his way to the stage, taking in the massive amount of applause he received from the onlookers. Bucky kept up his act, smiling broadly and waving to his adoring fans. Once on the stage, he enthusiastically shook Principal Lee's hand though he did not take his eyes off the public.

"Great news everyone…" Bucky began once he arrived at the microphone. "We have a brilliant and cheertastic candidate running for president this year! Me!"

"Yay, Bucky!" The cheerleaders, led by the Aceys, immediately cheered.

"As president…" Bucky continued. "I promise to make this school even more cheertastic than it already is… I promise bring more pep, laughter and enthusiasm to these halls… and I promise to not let anyone or 'anything' break our school spirit!"

"Yay! Bucky! Bucky! Bucky!" Most of the students cheered, applauding loudly.

Zed, along with most of the zombies only clapped respectfully, not particularly enthusiastic about Bucky's so-called promises.

"Very good, mister Bucky…" Principal Lee complemented, clapping politely as she took the microphone again. "Now, are there any other nominees?"

"Or you could just, you know, hand me the key to the school…" Bucky joked.

The students all looked around expectedly, seeing if anyone else was actually willing to compete with Bucky. Zed saw both Addison and Eliza look at him with raised eyebrows, probably still unsure if he was actually going to follow through on his plans. Zed rubbed his hands, trying to think of ways he could possibly one-up Bucky's entrance.

It was as if fate intervened at that moment, as Bonzo, playing his personal brass instrument, made an enthusiastic turn, bumping into Zed and causing him to slip and tumble down the steps of the stands. People hastily moved out of Zed's way as he grunted and groaned while rolling down the steps, eventually landing in a disgruntled heap in front of the podium.

Zed groaned as he turned onto his back, where the first thing he saw was Addison's shocked and worried face. On his other side, Bucky and principal Lee both looked on in astonishment. Zed soon also realized that the entire main hall had fallen dreadfully silent.

Not wanting to waste any more time, he jumped upright, stepped onto the podium and snatched the microphone out of Bucky's hand.

"Zombie strong!" He yelled, pumping up one fist.

It stayed silent for one more second before the entire main hall, led by the zombies present, erupted in applause.

"Hello everyone! My name is Zed…" He began, looking out over the crowd. "And I will be running for president!"

More cheering, with Addison in the front row jumping up and down in celebration.

"He can't steel my spotlight!" Bucky protested, stepping around Principal Lee to face Zed. "What about the whole anti-monster thingy?"

"Everyone can run for president, Bucky!" Addison protested, as the noise in the main hall quieted down a little. "Human and monster alike…"

"Ehm, she is actually right, mister Bucky…" Principal Lee mumbled, stepping in between the two candidates.

"What!?" Bucky exclaimed, looking on the verge of throwing a tantrum.

"Yes!" Zed hollered, raising his arms victoriously.

"A zombie president!?" Lacey basically shouted in a disgusted tone. "Eeeww!" She and the Aceys then wailed in unison.

"As the first zombie president…" Zed began, keeping the microphone away from Bucky's grabbing hands. "I will bring you prosperity and awesomeness!"

More applause from the students, still with Addison leading the charge. "Zed! Zed! Zed!" They chanted, with Eliza hyping up most of the zombies present.

A ringtone suddenly alerted Zed, and it was principal Lee who hastily answered her phone and excused herself from the stage.

"What do you think you're doing, greenhair?" Bucky hissed, just softly enough so that the students wouldn't hear him.

"Fighting for my rights as a zombie, and to take Addison to prawn…" Zed answered, enjoying the seething stare he received from Bucky in return. "As your president, I will make Seabrook a place that embraces both human and zombie culture, because inclusion is what it's all about, right?" Zed addressed the crowd.

More cheering from the crowd, and Zed genuinely felt on top of the world at that moment as everyone finally seemed to accept him.

Before he could bask in his own glory even more, principal Lee walked up the stage again from behind him and shakily grabbed the microphone out of his hand.

"Students…" She announced somewhat unsteadily. Her hand was still shaking, her face was pale and her voice trembled. "I have another announcement… A somewhat drastic one…"

Zed's eyes flashed towards Addison, who also quickly looked over at him. The rest of the students in the audience also looked around in confusion, but also looked at the principal expectingly.

"I just received a call from our esteemed mayor Wells…" Principal Lee went on, taking several deep breaths as Zed also saw her eyes flash towards Addison, who had started blushing. "You have all naturally taken note of the newly reinstated anti-monster laws… Apparently this was done as a reaction to a certain revelation… So… Yeah… Apparently, there are werewolves circling Seabrook who want to get into our town…"

The panic was nearly immediate. Aside from the excited whispering, many students gasped or screamed in terror. Addison, Eliza, Bree and Bonzo appeared to be the only ones not alarmed by this news, and they simply looked on as the panic spread.

"Werewolves are real!?" Was the sentence that was uttered the most by students all around the hall.

"I thought werewolves were just a myth!" Lacey stammered as she and the other Aceys joined Bucky on his side of the stage.

"Yeah, like cavities." Jacey added, causing Bucky and the other Aceys to look at him almost accusingly. "Those are real too!?" Jacey then exclaimed.

"I-I always, always said the stories of monsters in the forest were true, didn't I!?" Bucky huffed, crossing his arms. "And no one believed me…"

The Aceys all nodded, making Zed roll his eyes. Addison and Eliza then came up on the other side of the stage though, distracting him.

"Not how I had imagined we'd bring the news to them…" Addison mumbled, looking over the rows of panicked students.

"Is it bad that I enjoy the terror in their eyes?" Eliza added.

"And we haven't even come to the best part yet…" Zed grinned.

"Students! Students, please!" Principal Lee said as she wanted to retain order. "There was a, ehm, follow-up announcement…"

Most of the students quieted down, though a persistent murmuring remained present.

"Now, the anti-monster laws are in place… But city council has still made a, ehm, decision…" Principal Lee continued.

Zed waited with bated breath, and reached behind him to squeeze Addison's hand.

"The werewolves have been allowed to join Seabrook High… They're joining the school…" Principal Lee concluded, looking to be on the verge of fainting.

Now even more students screamed, with some even starting to run around in panic.

"Students! Students, please!" Principal Lee repeated, trying and failing to keep order. "I have been assured by the city council that the safety of the students and the faculty has been guaranteed! There is no need to panic!"

The screaming died down a little, but most of the students were now caught up in heated discussions with each other.

"Principal Lee, surely you are joking?" Bucky hissed. "Werewolves can't join our school!"

"They have every right to do so!" Addison stepped up. "They live within the school district, so why shouldn't they?"

"Don't werewolves eat human flesh?" Bucky then directed himself to Addison.

"No!" Addison retorted. "Well, not unless they have to…"

"You're doing great…" Zed whispered in her ear.

"In any case…" Principal Lee again spoke up, trying her best to silence the students. "The werewolves will join the school next Monday and I expect there to be no trouble… From either side… As much as we may not like these changes, I guess we still have to follow them…" She rambled before excusing herself and stepping off the stage.

"Werewolves at Seabrook! I'm going to faint!" Jacey freaked, rubbing his hands nervously.

"They're not dangerous." Addison stated, first to the people on the stage and then to those in the audience. "Everyone, they're not dangerous! Just… Just don't try to provoke them, please…"

"W-when I become president, I will make sure that these werewolves are all expelled!" Bucky announced, snatching the microphone again. "Seabrook is a human school, and humans should not have to be afraid to go to school!"

A large part of the audience cheered and applauded, and so Zed hastily grabbed the microphone.

"And if I become president, I will make sure that everyone is able to attend Seabrook High! Because everyone should get their chance!" Zed proclaimed.

Again people cheered, though these were mostly zombies.

"Zed for president!" Zed went on, raising his arms in a celebratory manner.

Bucky reached for the microphone again, but coach intervened as he stepped onto the stage. "Alright, enough! This assembly is over! Just… Just go to your classes everybody!"

The murmuring among the crowd persisted, but the students did eventually diverge and went their separate ways.

"Wait! But I'm not done!" Bucky protested as he again tried to grab the microphone.

"Save it for your campaign!" Coach told him before ushering everyone off the stage.

"I can't believe this! First, I got a zombie running against me for president, and then werewolves are allowed into Seabrook! This town is going crazy!" Bucky ranted, mostly towards the Aceys.

"It's scandalous." Stacey nodded.

"Preposterous!" Lacey added.

"Ehm, not very good…" Jacey concluded, causing Bucky and the Aceys to once again stare at him accusingly.

"Afraid of some honest competition, cuz?" Addison asked with a grin.

"It's not gonna be much of a competition. It's not like greenhair actually has a chance of winning!" Bucky spat.

"Talk to me again at the end of the race." Zed teased. "Because I believe the Seabrook students see that we need someone who embraces change. A leader who looks out for the crowd…"

"Then I will win!" Bucky retorted. "This is all one big popularity contest! And could you remind me who's cheer captain again?"

"Addison, in a short while at least." Zed grinned.

"Not if you win, she's not!" Bucky sneered.

"What?" Addison inquired.

"If I don't become school president, I'll simply be cheer captain again, which means that you won't be!" Bucky fired back.

This statement silenced both Zed and Addison, but made Bucky grin as if he'd won the lottery.

"Yeah, you think about that…" He added before snapping his fingers and walking off, the Aceys in tow.

Zed and Addison slowly turned to each other, both with somewhat apprehensive expressions. Zed bit his lip, unsure of what to say, and Addison seemed similarly speechless. He sighed, softly took her small hand into his own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. No words were spoken between them, but Zed still felt as though they understood each other perfectly. Whatever stood in their way, they would face it together.

* * *

"Zed for prez! Zed for prez!" Both Zed and Eliza said to people as they walked by.

Following Zed's nomination, he and Eliza had put a lot of work in coming up with a campaign strategy, which for now mainly included producing lots and lots of flyers. Now, the Monday after the announcement, he and Eliza stood near the school's main entrance and handed out these flyers to the arriving students.

"Why are you're helping me again? I thought school elections disgusted you…" Zed inquired as he handed out yet another flyer.

"Even I can see what a big deal it would be to have a zombie president." Eliza replied, pushing flyers into people's hands with a little more force. "Even one as empty-headed as you…"

"Thank you for your faith." Zed grinned. "Vote Zed for Prez! Because I'm a zombie, not a zomb-can't-be…"

"There has to be a better catch phrase out there…" Eliza pondered as the steady flow of students lessened somewhat.

"It is amazing, and you know it…" Zed smirked. "And besides, all we need is my handsome face on some flyers and posters, and I'll win before you know it…"

"Oh, we need more than that." Eliza protested, trying not to make the disgust in her voice too audible. "We need a proper platform if we want the support of both zombies and humans alike."

"And you have of course given that some thought?" Zed asked he and Eliza left their spot and walked towards the stands at the other side of the hall.

"Naturally…" Eliza replied as she reached into her bag and took out her laptop. "The major demographic we should look towards are of course the other zombies. With them on board, we would already have a substantial number of votes. So, to appeal to them, I suggest we fight for zombie toppings on pizza in the cafeteria…"

"Delicious…" Zed nodded.

"Get zombie taught as a second language…" Eliza added.

"Good…" Zed approved.

"Expand on already existing zombie rights, like allowing zombies to form their own clubs and hold meetings on school property…" Eliza went on.

"Nice…" Zed mumbled, not really paying attention.

"And a how to overthrow your oppressors after school club?" Eliza offered, looking up a little sheepishly.

"Eliza!" Zed exclaimed, annoyed but amused.

"Sorry… Right, don't overpromise…" Eliza sighed as she typed away on her laptop.

"Most importantly…" Zed spoke up, just as he saw Addison walk towards him. "We allow zombies at prawn."

"Of course…" Eliza pulled up an eyebrow as she also spotted Addison.

"Did you guys know that Bonzo is outside carrying a sign with your face on it?" Addison asked Zed, though she did giggle a little.

"I have to put myself out there…" Zed answered. "And Bonzo's enthusiasm is infectious…"

"How's the campaign going, mister future president?" Addison inquired with a smile.

"The commoners applaud me for my revolutionary thinking." Zed replied as he waved to some people who walked by.

"And I have to work with this…" Eliza groaned, elbowing Zed in his side.

"Could be worse…" Addison mumbled as what appeared to be a modified golf cart suddenly drove by.

"_Shish, boom! Bucky Buchanan for president! A vote for Bucky is a vote for cheerfection_!" A speaker from the cart announced loudly.

"That's discouraging…" Zed mumbled as the cart drove off again.

"Don't mind him…" Addison told Zed. "You'll do great, I believe in you."

Zed stuck out an arm and pulled Addison in for a hug, just when Bree suddenly ran up to them.

"Addie! Addie! Oh my gosh, I just heard! You get to run cheer practice tomorrow!" Bree squealed, almost jumping up and down.

"Really?" Zed asked, holding Addison at an arm's length. "Why didn't you say something?"

"It's, ehm… It's not a big deal…" Addison shrugged.

"Addie…" Zed said, pulling up his eyebrows.

"Okay, it is a big deal!" Addison shrieked, tightly grabbing Zed's hands and bouncing up and down.

"It's huge!" Bree added. "If Addie aces this practice, oh my gosh, she's so going to be cheer captain if Bucky wins!"

Zed immediately felt his smile leave his face, and Addison also looked up at him with a somewhat guilty expression.

"And I mean, these elections are basically popularity contests, and Bucky is, like, super popular…" Bree went on, not noticing how tense everyone had gotten.

"Okay! Thanks Bree…" Eliza exclaimed, looking at her with a piercing stare.

"What? O-oh…" Bree then stammered, starting to blush when she saw Zed and Addison's faces. "I-I'll just leave… See you at practice, Addie…"

Zed and Addison stayed silent for a few more seconds after Bree left, and Eliza also turned her back on them to maybe give them some privacy.

"Look…" Addison began. "I know it's weird that I'll only be cheer captain if Bucky wins, but…"

"No, Addie…" Zed interrupted her. "That just means that neither of us can lose, because one of us is going to get what we want… And I can live with that…"

"Me too…" Addison smiled as she once again pulled Zed into a hug. "I believe in you, Zed…"

"And I believe in you…" Zed replied, placing a kiss on the top of Addison's head.

"And I am gonna barf." Eliza added.

"Can't you let us have this?" Zed protested, though he did smirk a little.

"Hey, I enjoy watching you struggle in your romance as much as the next person, but should we also not have other things on our mind?" Eliza questioned.

"You mean the werewolves?" Addison inquired.

"Of course…" Eliza nodded. "Weren't they supposed to arrive today?"

"Yes…" Addison answered as she looked over at the main doors. "I'm not sure exactly when… But I know they're coming…"

"Do we have any werewolf saferooms already?" Zed asked with a grin.

"Zed!?" Addison exclaimed. "They're not dangerous."

"I-I know…" Zed corrected himself. "I was joking… You know, because I remember quite well that there were zombie saferooms on my first day…"

Addison blushed and smiled, but tried to keep up her stern demeanor. "Zed, I'm serious… I want to help them, but I also need you to help them try to adapt to Seabrook."

"Looking forward to it…" Zed mumbled. "Surely this school can't be too different from, you know, the forest…"

"Zed!" Addison repeated.

"I'll keep an eye out." Eliza told Addison. "To make sure that neither side does anything stupid."

"Thank you, Eliza." Addison replied, glancing accusingly at Zed.

"Hey, I'll try my best too…" Zed promised. "Who knows, maybe they'll even vote for me…"

"That could be good!" Eliza immediately piped in. "They could be important to win this!"

"What do you mean?" Addison asked.

"With cheer fans and most humans on Bucky's side, and the zombies and the football team on Zed's, the school should be split right down the middle." Eliza explained.

"Werewolves are the swing vote…" Zed added.

"They could be the key to winning the election." Eliza concluded.

"Please promise me you won't simply hang out with them to win the election." Addison pleaded.

"I'm also doing it for you…" Zed promised. "Is that good enough?"

"Perfect…" Addison smiled, softly squeezing Zed's upper arm and making him feel warm inside.

At that moment, Principal Lee walked down the steps on their left and began heading for the school's main doors. She wore a tight-lipped, pale expression on her face.

"What's her deal?" Eliza questioned as they watched the principal meet up with coach in the middle of the hall, where they then began a soft, but notably heated discussion.

"I could have a guess…" Zed mumbled.

And indeed, at that very moment several students hurried through the main doors.

"Werewolves!" Some of them screamed as they barged in.

Again, just like with the announcement, almost every student in the main hall began panicking. Most of them started screaming and running off in every direction. Zed, Addison and Eliza were basically the only ones who stayed calm.

The main doors then opened again, and in came about thirty people Zed of course knew to be werewolves. They did not look similar at all, yet did obviously belong to the same group. They all wore mostly torn clothing in shades of brown or purple with some elements of fur as well. One thing that all of them had in common was a streak of white amidst their otherwise dark hair. The way they strutted through the door and into the school was almost effortlessly cool and intimidating, as if these werewolves just exuded swagger.

Zed recognized Wyatt, who walked at the front alongside a tall, dark girl. They looked around the main hall seemingly both in interest and disdain, along with the werewolves behind them. They confidently marched over to where Principal Lee and coach were standing.

"W-welcome…" Principal Lee greeted them with a stutter, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. "Welcome to Seabrook High… W-we are thrilled to be, ehm, forced to have you here…"

"Are you in charge here?" The dark girl interrupted the principal.

"I, ehm… Yes…" Principal Lee stammered.

"And do you know a lot about this town?" The girl continued.

"Ehm… I… Yes… Somewhat…" Principal Lee stuttered.

"You wouldn't happen to know…" The girl began, before Zed saw how Wyatt elbowed her in her side. The girl glared at him, but did appear to understand his intention and looked back at the principal with a kind smile plastered on her face. "Sorry… We werewolves so admire the town, and the school of course… We are simply overjoyed to enroll here…"

"Oh…" Principal Lee exhaled. "Very well then… You can find your schedules at the front desk… Look at the notice boards for general information… A-and you have unrestricted access to the library and sports fields… Ehm, enjoy your time at Seabrook High…"

"Thank you." Both Wyatt and the dark girl said with broad, but empty grins.

Without waiting for a reply, the werewolves simply walked on, leaving a both disgruntled but oddly satisfied principal behind.

"Damn, they look good…" Eliza mentioned as she Addison and Zed watched the werewolves walk further into school.

"I'm still not sure we can fully trust them…" Zed contemplated as he suspiciously examined the pack. "Maybe we should give them some time to, you know, find their footing before we introduce ourselves…" He continued, reaching behind him to grab onto Addison's hand.

"She left…" Eliza said with a grin.

"What?" Zed exclaimed, immediately spinning around to indeed see no Addison behind him. He spun around again and saw Addison basically skip over to where the werewolves were standing.

"Welcome to Seabrook!" Addison greeted with the brightest smile Zed had ever seen.

"Hey Addison…" Wyatt replied with a grin, walking to the front of his group.

"This is her?" The dark girl asked as she joined Wyatt.

"Do you need to ask?" Wyatt retorted with raised eyebrows.

"Right…" The girl mumbled, looking over Addison. "So, where's the moonstone whitehair?"

"The what?" Addison inquired, looking somewhat perplexed.

"Willa…" Wyatt hissed, again elbowing the dark girl. "We're here to fit in, remember?"

At that moment, both Zed and Eliza had rushed over to Addison's side and were now looking nervously at the group of werewolves.

"Ah… You again…" Wyatt practically sneered once he laid eyes on Zed.

"Hello to you too. It's good to see you can enter the school legally as well." Zed countered.

"Zed!" Addison snapped, but Zed kept his eyes on Wyatt.

"Meet my pack…" Wyatt then said, mostly to Addison. "This here is my sister Willa, she's our alpha…" He added, gesturing at the dark girl.

"I'm Addison!" Addison enthusiastically introduced herself, sticking out her hand.

"I know, he told me." Willa replied, not shaking Addison's hand. She appeared to be more focused on Zed and Eliza, who stood on either side of Addison. "And you two are…"

"Eh, I'm Zed!" Zed hastily answered. "This is Eliza… We're zombies…"

"Zombies, eh?" Willa mumbled, still examining him and Eliza. "The brain eaters…"

"Uh, not for a long time…" Zed corrected with a hesitant laugh. "Just like you don't really eat human flesh… Right?"

"Not unless we have to…" Willa answered somewhat sinisterly. "Wolves, move out!" She then ordered the pack, who immediately followed her lead when she walked off.

"I'll see you later…" Wyatt told Addison as he followed the rest. "Come find us…"

"Bye!" Addison happily waved, before turning to Zed. "That's what you call a warm welcome?"

"What? It's not like they tried their best, right? That Willa was cold as hell!" Zed countered.

"I like her." Eliza grinned.

Addison rolled her eyes, but did show a small smile eventually. "Well, that's phase one completed either way… They're here… Now can you please try your best to interact with them?"

"Fine…" Zed groaned. "But I'm not gonna wear fur or, you know, dye my hair!"


	8. Chapter 8: Fitting in

**Sorry for the longer wait, it's been quite a crazy few days. I am planning on finishing the story though, so stay tuned.**

**A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.**

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Fitting in**

* * *

"These sheep just let us in?" Willa commented as she and Wyatt led the rest of the pack through the school. "Baaaad idea…"

"We agreed to play nice…" Wyatt sighed, though he had to admit that he enjoyed the way everyone cowered when he and the other werewolves came near.

"This is me playing nice." Willa sneered.

"You almost bared your claws to the principal…" Wyatt countered. "Not to mention barely saying a word to Addison."

"I truly can't believe that that girl is supposed to be the great alpha." Willa snarled.

"She has the white hair." Wyatt retorted.

"Yeah, but she is also a human and a cheerleader!" Willa scoffed. "She may be able to lead us to the moonstone, but there's no way she is able to lead the pack!"

"The prophecy…" Wyatt began.

"Is just a prophecy!" Willa interrupted him. "Instead of relying on myths and legends, we could go out and try to fix our own problems…"

"Without the moonstone!?" Wyatt protested. "We have no way of finding it without her…"

"Except we do now…" Willa smirked. "This place… There must be a piece of information somewhere about where the moonstone is hidden… If it's here, then we'll find it…"

Wyatt bit his lip, but did eventually admit that Willa's plan made some sense. "Okay, where do we start?"

"The library…" Willa answered. "Apparently we have unrestricted access…"

And so, the werewolves spent the larger part of their first day at Seabrook High in the library instead of going to class. Soon after they arrived, all human students present in the library quickly cleared out, leaving plenty of space for the pack to gather information.

Wyatt and his pack kept on scanning through book after book, hoping to find any sign or mention of the location of the moonstone. It was incredibly repetitive and boring work, especially the way in which Seabrook like to pet itself on the back in its own history books. Willa, along with some of the other wolves, had all called out in anger how the real history of the town, in which the Seabrook settlers had forced the werewolves out of their own territory and had stolen the moonstone, was kept under wraps. Instead, these books glorified the settlers and the werewolves were simply painted off as savage beasts with an appetite for human flesh.

Aside from the incorrect history though, they didn't manage to find anything useful on the moonstone yet. This visibly annoyed most of the wolves, who then vented their anger by taking it out on the human students who entered the library.

It was all playful though, as some wolves jumped out to scare the students while others simply bared their teeth or their nails. Wyatt laughed along, growing more and more relaxed as he realized how little these humans actually dared to oppose them. The elders had always pressured them to stay away from the town, saying how dangerous the humans were. But now that Wyatt was actually here, he found it hard to believe that he was in any real danger.

Willa was the only one who didn't partake in these hijinks, as she kept a stern face while reading through most of the history books they had been able to find.

"This is all complete nonsense…" She mumbled when Wyatt joined her.

"What did you expect?" Wyatt replied, putting his feet up on the table.

"Not only do they not speak a word about the moonstone, but they also lie about our entire history!" Willa sneered.

"Again, what did you expect?" Wyatt added. "Finding the moonstone was never supposed to be easy… That's why we need the alpha! We need Addison!"

"Tell me that you actually believe that that little cheerleader is the alpha." Willa said. "Tell me you're not going on about this because you're totally smitten with her."

Wyatt blushed a little and turned away. "She's the spitting image of the prophecy." He protested. "I want what's best for the pack."

"Keep it that way." Willa snapped before going back to her book.

Wyatt rolled his eyes, but did immediately perk up when he saw Addison walk into the library and head in his direction.

"Hey guys." She happily greeted. "Studying already?"

"Research…" Willa mumbled, not looking up.

"We don't really have a lot of books where we're from…" Wyatt shrugged.

"I see…" Addison murmured. "Did you, ehm, did you go to any classes today?"

"No." Willa curtly answered.

Addison's smile disappeared. "Why not? Is that not why you came here?"

"We came to learn, yes, but I don't think there's anything useful you humans can teach us…" Willa snapped.

Addison looked a little offended and crossed her arms. "I-I'm sorry you think that way… Why would you think that, actually?"

"Because all you do is lie!" Willa scoffed. "This… This book is full of lies!"

Addison's expression turned into a wide-eyed one of shock, but she did not reply.

"These books… They claim that werewolves attacked the Seabrook settlers, but they were the ones who struck first! They drove us from our lands! Our home! And they stole our moonstone!" Willa went on.

Wyatt tensed up in his seat. Willa had just mentioned the moonstone! All of Wyatt's efforts to take it slow with Addison and not scare her off could have just been for nothing, all because Willa could not contain her emotions.

"I-I…" Addison stammered, obviously uncomfortable. "I'm sorry… I never knew…"

"There's a lot you don't know…" Willa snapped.

"B-but I want to learn…" Addison pleaded. "I want to help…"

"Then help…" Willa retorted. "Help us… By getting off our backs!"

Addison once again looked shocked, and Wyatt rolled his eyes at Willa's attitude. Wyatt had his plans regarding Addison and the prophecy of the great alpha, and Willa had even agreed to let him do what he thought necessary. Now it appeared as though Willa had never taken him or his thoughts seriously.

"Willa…" Wyatt hissed, but she did not pay him any mind.

"Why are you like this?" Addison asked. She sounded calm, but had a clear undertone of annoyance and anger.

"Because we survived for hundreds of years without humans." Willa answered as she closed her book and stood up. "And we don't suddenly need you now."

Addison wanted to protest, but Willa just walked past her and towards the exit.

"T-the alarm's gonna go off if you don't check out your book…" Addison shouted, but a little timidly.

Without stopping, Willa simply removed her moon necklace, tossed it against the electrical gate at the library's exit and headed on. There was no alarm.

"H-how did she…" Addison stammered, turning to Wyatt.

"Our necklaces have a way with electronics." Wyatt explained. "Whenever we come too close to one of your devices, it stops working."

"That's, ehm, interesting…" Addison spoke, sitting down next to Wyatt.

"We don't know how or why it happens…" Wyatt shrugged. "It's just another one of our things, and Willa loves exploiting them."

"She doesn't like me." Addison said in a bit of a sad tone.

"She doesn't like humans." Wyatt corrected. "It's nothing against you in particular. Give her some time."

"I mean…" Addison began. "I get why she would be a bit mistrustful, but it really feels like she hates me… Not like you…"

Wyatt grinned broadly, seeing as how Addison really seemed to trust him. "I have faith… I really appreciate all you've been doing for us. Give Willa some time, she'll come around…"

Addison smiled again, and Wyatt even believed that he saw her blush a little.

"Wyatt!" Someone spoke up from behind him.

"Hmm?" Wyatt responded, looking back to see Wynter and a few of the other wolves.

"We're off. There's nothing for us here." Wynter said.

"Sure…" Wyatt replied, his eyes quickly flashing back towards Addison. "Go find Willa and head into town. I'll find you there…"

Wynter's eyes also quickly flashed towards Addison before she spoke again. "Don't be late…" She simply told him before she and the others left as well.

"What are you going to do?" Addison asked.

"Just, ehm, discuss things a little…" Wyatt answered. "It's our first day at Seabrook, and we have to consider what we'll do from now on."

"You have to go to school." Addison said somewhat accusingly. "Otherwise I'm not sure if you can all stay here…"

"We're at school, aren't we?" Wyatt retorted.

"But you also have to go to class." Addison sighed. "Interact with people, join the cheer squad or the football team… Show everyone that you're not bloodthirsty monsters."

Wyatt stroked his chin, his eyes not leaving Addison's worried face. "I'll try to convince the others…" He then said.

"Thank you." Addison smiled, putting her hand on top of Wyatt's and squeezing it softly. "And try to not get into any trouble."

"Do I ever?" Wyatt smirked as he stood up, waved to Addison and headed for the exit. He carefully breathed out and tried to get his heartbeat back under control. He could only hope that Addison had not noticed the blush on his cheeks.

* * *

"These books are useless!" Willa spat, roughly closing her book with a thud. "No moonstone… Nothing…"

Wyatt snorted as he simply admired his fingernails, causing Willa to look up at him. The werewolves were all crowded on a small terrace in Zombietown, being eyed suspiciously by both zombies and humans alike.

"Now do you finally believe me?" Wyatt asked. "Do we turn to Addison or are we going to read through every book in this town?"

"As if that girl knows anything!" Willa snapped.

"We haven't given her a chance yet." Wyatt retorted. "We haven't even asked her if she knows where the moonstone is."

"Because she wouldn't know!" Willa added.

"You're insufferable at times, you know that?" Wyatt grinned.

"I just want to get this over with…" Willa groaned. "The sooner we get out of this awful town, the better."

"I wouldn't call it awful…" Wyatt shrugged. "They have this thing called froyo…"

Willa shot him a glare, and Wyatt raised his hands defensively.

"Alright, I do agree." Wyatt gave in. "The pack needs us, and we should return to the den sooner rather than later."

"Good that you feel that way." Willa acknowledged. "Now we need ideas! How do we find the moonstone?"

"We need Addison!" Wyatt once again proposed. "I know you want to leave as soon as possible, but getting her on our side might take a few days."

Willa bit her lip. "And what if she knows nothing?"

"Then at the least we will have gained an ally." Wyatt replied. "But she has the white hair… She could very well be a wolf…"

"Then why was she here, and not in the woods with us?" Willa retorted.

"Who knows?" Wyatt sneered. "But there's a very simple test for us to find out…"

"That moon necklace is for the great alpha!" Willa sneered.

"She is the great alpha!" Wyatt countered. "I have a plan… We, or I, befriend her. We then take her out to the den and have her join us…"

"And she will come along voluntarily? Not that I'm opposed to using some force…" Willa asked.

"If you would just let me get close to her, I'll get her to come along…" Wyatt sighed. "So, do you agree to this plan?"

Willa quickly looked over the other wolves, who had all followed the conversation in earnest. "Fine… You get three days."

"More than enough." Wyatt grinned. "But this also means that we need to stay in this town for that long. Which means not getting kicked out before that…"

"Which means playing by the rules…" Willa sighed, rolling her eyes. "These terrible, terrible rules…"

"Three days. You can suck it up." Wyatt smirked.

"You just get close to that cheerleader in the meantime." Willa snorted.

"Guys!" Wynter warned, just as Wyatt wanted to reply.

Both Wyatt and Willa looked back, and they saw Zed and Eliza confidently strut in their direction.

"What do they want?" Wyatt mumbled, getting a little more comfortable in his seat.

"Let's hear them out…" Willa replied, putting a hand under her chin.

"Hello wolves!" Zed greeted with a raised hand and a broad grin. "Allow me to introduce myself again… I'm Zed. Zombie, football star and presidential hopeful…"

"Okay…" Willa replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to welcome you to Zombietown…" Zed continued, gesturing to the buildings around him. "Our home… And we are so happy to have you here…"

Neither Wyatt, Willa or any of the other werewolves responded, still simply looking over both Zed and Eliza a little suspiciously.

Zed's hopeful smile faltered somewhat, but he talked on anyway. "Well, I just wanted to let you all know that you don't have to be scared or intimidated or anything… We accept anyone who comes here…"

"We're not scared of anything!" Willa snapped.

"That's also cool…" Zed nodded. "I meant no offense… It's just that… That, ehm…"

"When zombies first came to Seabrook we were outsiders too…" Eliza piped in. "We just wanted to let you know that you're welcome…"

"Okay…" Willa replied, looking over Eliza. "Fine…"

"But things can still improve!" Eliza went on, suddenly more enthusiastic. "Which is why we need a great president like Zed to represent us…"

"Represent?" Willa inquired.

"The school president represents all students." Zed explained. "If I get elected, I will listen to all students to try to make life better and easier for everyone. And, as president, I will be able to make certain changes…"

Again, none of the werewolves responded.

"We'd, ehm… We'd be honored if you guys joined us…" Eliza added.

"Our pack is our pack!" Wynter spoke up. "We don't need anyone else…"

"Zed! Zed!" Someone suddenly shouted from behind Wyatt. Looking back, he saw to his astonishment how the little zombie girl he had met on his first night in Seabrook came running up to them.

"What's up, Zo?" Zed asked with a smile as he crouched down a little.

"I'm all out of flyers, can I get-" Zoey began, before she suddenly spotted the werewolves and Wyatt. "Hey, Wyatt!" She greeted, waving happily.

Wyatt felt himself blush as the other werewolves stared at him somewhat accusingly.

"Y-you know him?" Zed asked, looking between Wyatt and Zoey.

"Of course! Wyatt is my werewolf friend!" Zoey squealed.

"Y-you… How?" Zed inquired.

"I met him a few days ago…" Zoey explained. "Wyatt told me that he was a spy, and that I could tell nobody that he was here…"

Now Zed stared at Wyatt somewhat shocked, but Willa looked absolutely furious.

"D-did he hurt you?" Zed asked.

"No!" Wyatt snarled. "Of course not!"

"No, Wyatt is a sweetheart!" Zoey giggled, only causing Wyatt to blush more.

"Wyatt!" Willa hissed from behind him, but Wyatt ignored her.

"How, ehm… How do you know each other?" Wyatt asked, gesturing at Zed and Zoey.

"She's my sister." Zed answered, pulling Zoey close to him.

"Ah…" Wyatt mumbled.

"What the hell, Wyatt!?" Willa snarled.

"I met her when I got into town." Wyatt explained. "It's no big deal…"

"Why is that little girl calling you a sweetheart?" Willa added.

"Because he is!" Zoey piped up. "He's my friend!"

Willa and the other wolves looked shocked, while Wyatt felt like disappearing in his seat.

"Are you gonna vote for Zed?" Zoey then asked, not noticing the discomfort among the werewolves. "A vote for Zed is a vote for acceptance!"

"We don't need him!" Willa spat, obviously not caring about Zoey's age. "We already have our pack!"

"Who doesn't want more friends?" Zoey smiled. "We could be friends!"

"Sometimes us monsters have to stick together…" Eliza opted.

"We're nothing like you zombies!" Willa snapped, standing up.

"You sort of are…" Eliza countered. "You necklaces… They're powered, right? Kinda like an organic Z-band?"

Willa squinted at Eliza, seemingly checking her out a little more. "You're smarter than he looks…" She told her, causing Zed to frown a little.

"Thanks." Eliza smiled, shuffling on her feet a little.

"Your necklace… It keeps you from wolfing out?" Zed questioned.

"The opposite!" Willa retorted. "Our moonstones make us our true werewolf selves…"

"So, without it you'd be human?" Zed inquired in a disbelieving tone.

"Without it we'd die!" Willa scoffed. "We'd be nothing…"

Both Zed and Eliza looked down a little embarrassed.

"Imagine how alive you'd feel if you didn't have to tamp things down… Hold back your true selves…" Wyatt added, standing up beside Willa.

"Actually, I have this theory that zombies might have evolved beyond their need for Z-bands…" Eliza spoke up before Zed interrupted her.

"Hey! Hey! No, Z-bands are great… They help us fit in! And I think that you would all have a much better time at Seabrook if you just followed in our footsteps…" Zed advised.

Wyatt and Willa both pulled up their eyebrows, looking skeptically at Zed.

"What do you mean with that?" Willa asked.

"You know… Join a club! Play football! Join the cheer squad!" Zed proposed. "Lighten up a little! Be more like us…"

"What? Be more like you zombies?" Willa questioned.

"Yes!" Zed smirked.

"Fat chance!" Willa spat. "It's like Wynter said. Our pack is our pack and we neither need or want humans or zombies to befriend us."

"Then why come to Seabrook in the first place?" Zed retorted, obviously annoyed. "You come here to look for Addison, who offers to help you, but then you don't put in any effort!"

"Zed!" Eliza hissed somewhat accusingly, pulling Zoey close to her.

"Why are you here anyway, if not to fit in?" Zed went on.

Wyatt glared at Willa, who had started blushing uncomfortably. "W-we… We want to help the pack…" She eventually answered. "We're not planning on staying here…"

"But why not make the most out of your time at Seabrook?" Zed offered. "Look, you have your pack… And that's cool… But if you need help, you need friends you can count on…"

"But you can't help us." Wyatt snapped.

"How do you know?" Zed replied, his steely gaze resting on Wyatt.

"Because only Addison can." Wyatt answered, practically feeling Willa's eyes bore into him from behind.

Zed balled his fists and carefully breathed in and out a few times. "Look… I get that you think she can help you, because she's amazing… But Addison can only do so much. Why don't you tell us your problem and we can help you with it?"

"No." Willa said before Wyatt could reply.

"Why not?" Eliza spoke up. "How do you know if we can help or not if you don't tell us what you need help for?"

"Your feisty mouth could get you in trouble!" Willa told Eliza, squaring up to her.

"Woah! Woah!" Both Zed and Wyatt intervened before the two girls took things further.

"Come on now… I mean, Eliza has a point… If I become school president, I could actually do much more for you." Zed argued.

"I still don't get why we should care about who becomes president." Wyatt sneered.

"Because the school president can make life easier for you, in school at least." Zed explained. "And who knows how I could maybe help you if I become school president."

"This entire talk, was that just a sales pitch?" Wyatt asked. "Do you actually want to help us? Do you actually want us to fit in? Or do you just want some spare votes for your presidential campaign?"

Zed bit his lip and hastily looked over at Eliza, who just shrugged.

"That's what I thought." Wyatt scoffed as he stood up. "We'll probably meet again. After all, Addison is actually planning on helping us." He added as he condescendingly patted Zed on the shoulder before walking past him and Eliza.

"The nerves on that guy…" Willa sneered as she joined him. "Telling us what to do… Telling us how to behave…"

"He did give me an idea though." Wyatt grinned.

"What?" Willa questioned.

"He told us to join a club, right? Like football or cheerleading? Well, now there might just be a way for me to get closer to Addison…" Wyatt smiled, rubbing his hands.


	9. Chapter 9: Trust

**Sorry for the longer wait, it's been quite a crazy few days. I am planning on finishing the story though, so stay tuned.**

**A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.**

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Trust**

* * *

Addison hastily walked through the hallways of Seabrook High. She carried a crumpled up flyer in her hand and a seething expression on her face. Many students looked up in surprise as they watched her storm past them, but she paid them no mind.

"Zed!" She yelled once she saw the zombie in question standing next to his locker with Eliza.

Zed looked up, and his smile faltered somewhat when he saw Addison's expression.

"Zed! What is this!?" She asked as she held up the flyer in her hand.

"Ehm… A flyer?" Zed hesitantly answered.

"Y-yes, but it's about what's on it!" Addison replied, shaking the flyer.

"It's for my campaign. I have to put myself out there." Zed defended himself.

"I get that, but like this? Really?" Addison retorted. She had no problems with Zed handing out flyers or advertising for himself, but she did have a problem with the actual flyers. All of them featured a broadly smiling Zed, but with some obvious adjustments. It almost looked as though Zed had spent some time in the sun, as his normally pale skin looked more tan. Almost human like. Aside from that, his green hair, which Addison loved, had been replaced by dark locks.

"W-what's wrong with it?" Zed asked sheepishly.

"W-what's wrong with it!?" Addison seethed. "Zed! T-this doesn't look like you… Y-you look… You look…"

"Human." Zed finished her sentence, sighing deeply.

"Yes…" Addison replied in a sad tone. "Why? What happened to 'zombie pride'?"

"This is a necessary inconvenience…" Eliza said, though she sounded far from happy. "Yesterday did not go very well. There's no way Zed's getting the wolf vote."

"Oh… Well… What happened?" Addison inquired, looking a little worried.

"Things, ehm… They did not go smoothly." Zed mumbled.

"You weren't disrespectful, right? You promised me you would try your best." Addison reminded him.

"A-and I did… But things just went a little sideways…" Zed shrugged.

"And now, since we don't have the wolf vote, we need a better approach on some other fronts. This means that we need more publicity and that Zed needs to ace the debate tomorrow." Eliza explained. "And printing flyers is easier than relying on Zed to do something good for once."

"Hey!" Zed protested.

"But why like this?" Addison stated, holding up the flyer again.

"Because I need to appeal to humans, which sadly means looking less zombie like." Zed answered.

"But we love zombies." Addison retorted. "We know zombies."

"Yeah… But with the werewolves…" Zed contemplated. "People are lumping zombies and werewolves together. They now think we're monsters again. I just want to show them that I'm nothing like those furballs."

"Zed!" Addison exclaimed, nostrils flaring.

"Sorry Addie, but Eliza and I really tried. Those wolves want nothing to do with us!" Zed objected.

"They are mistrustful. We just need to take things slow…" Addison advised.

"And I will do that. But the election's coming up and I need results as soon as possible." Zed replied.

"I still don't like this." Addison sighed.

"I get that you don't." Zed acknowledged. "But it's just for now… After I win, I get to take you to prawn, we solve the werewolf problem and then everything can go back to the way it's supposed to be…"

Addison couldn't bring herself to smile, so she only nodded. "I… I'm running cheer practice today… I need to prepare…"

"Oh, good luck! I'm sure that you're gonna ace it!" Zed encouraged her.

"Thanks." Addison replied, managing to conjure up a small smile. "We are not done talking though. I'll see you after practice."

"I'll be there." Zed nodded.

Addison wanted to hug him goodbye, but half way through leaning in she changed her mind and just stepped around Zed. She did not look back, but practically felt Zed's sad eyes in the back of her head.

Really, she was just sad about how things between Zed and the werewolves had gone thus far. She had to admit that the werewolves had been far from model citizens since they came to Seabrook, but it was Zed's attitude that annoyed her the most.

For months, the two of them had worked their butts off to try and get equal rights and opportunities for zombies in their town. Zed had preached all about acceptance and equality, but this stance seemed to have disappeared when regarding the werewolves. The way he talked about them, calling them furballs or bloodthirsty, reminded Addison a little too much of zombie intolerance. The fact that Zed was apparently not aware of this, and that he was willing to 'humanize' himself in order to win the election kind of scared Addison.

There was a saying; the end justifies the means. Addison herself had never agreed with this saying, but Zed was now apparently willing to do whatever it takes, even setting aside his own morals, in order to get what he wanted. Now, what he wanted was to take her to prawn, so Addison could not get too mad at him though.

For now, she needed stay focused on cheerleading and the first ever practice she'd be running. Despite everything else that was happening, Addison was still totally pumped about getting this opportunity. If the practice would go well, then she would surely be named as cheer captain if Bucky would become school president.

That scenario would of course mean that Zed wouldn't win and that they would most likely not be able to go to prawn together, but that would just be another obstacle they would have to get past. Addison sighed. It appeared as though all she and Zed were doing at the moment was trying to get past obstacles in their relationship.

Addison shook her head, trying to get rid of all the negative thoughts as she headed towards the school gymnasium to prepare for her cheer practice.

As a steady member of the team for over a year, Addison had taken part in plenty of cheer practices herself, but she suspected that leading one would definitely feel different. She felt nervous, but excited. This was her chance to not only show Bucky, but everyone else in the team how good of a leader she could be.

Addison had always been an outsider in the cheer squad. If not for her hair, then for her thoughts and ideals. The rest of the team, with Bucky at the front end, mostly cared about winning. They were more worried about their own image than about actual problems in the school.

As an almost polar opposite of that, Addison always knew deep down that she would be able to actually help people as both a person and a cheerleader. She had already drawn up a lot of plans for the cheer squad if she would be elected as team captain. She planned on starting an outreach program, cheer-centered fundraisers and even community charity work. As captain, not only would she be able to put these plans into fruition, she would also finally be able to move past her image as the outsider or abnormal one of the squad. All of this meant that at the moment, she wanted nothing more than to become cheer captain.

Once in the gymnasium, Addison readied the squad's mats and pompoms. After that, all she could do was wait for the rest of the team to show up.

Bree and Bonzo were first, approaching Addison enthusiastically.

"Oh my god, Addie! Your first practice!" Bree squealed.

"I'm so fired up!" Addison replied, practically jumping up and down. "I'm ready for cheer practice! I feel like I'm ready for anything!"

"You'll hit it out of the park, I'm sure!" Bree encouraged her.

Bonzo also nodded enthusiastically, a broad smile on his face.

"Thanks guys." Addison beamed. "Just don't expect me to go easy on you. I want a hundred percent out of every cheerleader!"

Bree and Bonzo both nodded before moving out to grab their stuff. The rest of the squad slowly poured into the gymnasium, chatting excitedly and all happily greeting Addison. The Aceys were the last ones to enter the room, and none of them even bothered to look at Addison.

"Alright! Everyone! Can I get your attention?" Addison announced to the squad, who by now had all gathered in the center of the gymnasium.

The murmuring stopped and everyone, including the Aceys, directed their attention towards Addison.

"Right, as you all know, this is my first time leading a cheer practice. This is both for me to better understand how it feels to be cheer captain, and for you to rate my skills as captain." Addison went on. "Now, it might be my first time, and we might have only just started the new season, but I don't want us to slack off. We'll start with some normal stretching and some basic exercises before revisiting some of the essential moves from last year. Aside from that, we have new zombie members on our team, meaning that we also get to try out some new moves. Well, are there any questions?"

Bree slowly put up her hand, somewhat surprising Addison.

"Ehm, yeah? What is it, Bree?" Addison asked.

Bree didn't reply, but only timidly pointed to a spot behind Addison, who turned around to see ten or so of the group of werewolves sitting on the stands, looking amusedly in the direction of the cheerleaders. Wyatt was among the group, and appeared to be the only one who looked on in genuine interest.

"What are they doing here?" Bree whispered, standing next to Addison.

"No idea." Addison answered, though she did not feel any sort of discomfort.

"This is a place for cheerleaders!" Lacey spoke up as she joined Addison and Bree along with Stacey.

"We made reservations, they are not allowed in here." Stacey added.

"Calm down! Calm down!" Addison shushed the others. "I'll go talk to them. All of you just start with your warm-ups."

Bree nodded approvingly, but the Aceys just scoffed before rejoining the rest of the squad. Addison meanwhile walked over to the other side of the gymnasium, where the werewolves all straightened up when they saw her approach.

"Hey guys. What are you doing here?" Addison asked with a broad smile.

"Chilling." Wyatt answered. Addison noticed how he was the only one who kept up his cool and uncaring attitude.

"Well, sorry, but this practice space it for cheerleaders only." Addison told them.

"Ha! Just try and get us to leave!" The werewolf Addison recognized as Wynter snapped.

"Wynter!" Wyatt immediately interjected. "Show some respect…" He added before turning to Addison. "I apologize for my comrades…"

"No need." Addison replied. "And I don't want you to leave… I want you to stay…"

Wyatt and the other werewolves all pulled up their eyebrows in apparent surprise.

"You want us to stay?" Wyatt questioned.

"Yes." Addison smiled. "Cheer is for everyone, and I want you all to feel welcome."

"Wait… You 'want' us to cheer with you?" Wyatt inquired.

"I want you to try out." Addison nodded. "See if you can keep up…"

This specific choice of words got the werewolves' attention, and Addison couldn't help but grin as she watched them sit up.

"Keep up?" Wynter sneered. "Keep up? Us werewolves can do everything better than you!"

"I would like to see that." Addison replied with a sort of challenging undertone. "Show us what you can do…"

Addison saw how a slight grin appeared on Wyatt's face as he stood up and walked down to her.

"Are you serious?" Wyatt asked in a casual tone once he reached Addison.

"You werewolves brag a lot." Addison said, crossing her arms as she looked up at Wyatt. "Care to put your money where your mouth is?"

Wyatt looked back at the other wolves, who all sort of nudged their heads. "You're on." He then smirked.

* * *

Addison was ecstatic as she performed the routine alongside her squad. For about an hour, she and the team had introduced the werewolves to the trials of cheerleading. Addison became even happier when the werewolves actively took part in the activity and also proved themselves to be extremely capable cheerleaders.

The routine she had thought of only worked better with the more physically adapt werewolves taking part, and they happily showed off their physicality and agility to both the humans and the zombies present. There were still some small aspects they needed to finetune, but Addison could already imagine herself bringing home the cheer championship title with this team and this routine.

In the end, she was thrown up high into the hair and did a couple of flips before landing safely in Wyatt's arms. The entire team posed for a second, all breathing heavily, before bursting out in loud cheers.

"That was amazing!" Addison exclaimed as Wyatt gently lowered her to the ground. "You're all natural cheerleaders."

"Is that a complement?" Wyatt teased.

"From me it is." Addison replied. "I hope you'll consider joining for real."

"Hmm, we'll have to think about it. But I have to admit… We wolves work well together…" Wyatt told her.

"B-but I'm not a wolf…" Addison said somewhat shakily, also feeling a blush creep up on her cheeks.

"But would you want to be?" Wyatt asked.

Addison blushed even more and stammered as she couldn't formulate a real response. Before the awkwardness could grow even more, both Addison and Wyatt were alerted by someone coughing loudly behind them.

"Wynter!?" Wyatt exclaimed as he quickly turned around.

Wynter was on her knees, clutching her chest as she coughed like her lungs her bursting.

"Wynter? A-are you okay?" Addison inquired as she hastily approached the downed werewolf.

"Just breathe… Just breathe, Wynter…" Wyatt tried to calm her, rubbing her back.

More werewolves and cheerleaders gathered around as Wynter slowly regained her composure. The coughing soon stopped, and it took just over a minute for Wynter to breathe normally again.

"I'm okay… I'm okay…" She stammered, getting back up.

"A-are you sure?" Addison asked, still worried.

"I'm fine!" Wynter snapped. "It's nothing!"

"That wasn't nothing. Maybe you should see the nurse." Addison offered.

"That won't help." Wyatt replied, helping Wynter up straight. "It's a wolf thing…"

"Oh…" Addison sighed. "Is there anything I could do to help?"

Wyatt's eyes widened for a moment before he smiled warmly at her, unknowingly showing off his fangs. "There, ehm… You might…" He began, before Addison suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder that turned her around.

"Addison! Well done! I saw the practice and it went smooth to say the least!" Bucky told her with a wide grin.

"Thanks." Addison proudly replied.

"And getting werewolves on the team, genius move! With them on the squad this election is so in the bag." Bucky went on, preening happily.

Addison's smile immediately disappeared. "Bucky, this is not about politics. I didn't ask the werewolves to join us simply to get them to vote for you."

"In that case you unintentionally helped me, which I also don't mind." Bucky shrugged.

"I-I just felt like cheer could unite…" Addison stammered, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Bucky looked at her almost compassionately and patter her on the shoulder. Still, Addison wasn't sure if he was being genuine or simply condescending.

"You know, Addie? You have some learning to do, and some growing up, but I know that you will make a great cheer captain." He told her.

Addison felt her heart jump up in her chest. "You want me to be cheer captain?"

"Well…" Bucky began, swaying a little on his feet. "Let's just say that I am the deciding factor, and that you are at the top of my list…"

Addison almost felt like hugging Bucky, but refrained herself from doing so. "Oh, I can't wait! I had this idea that the squad could move beyond winning trophies and maybe start an outreach program…" Addison started rambling.

"Woah! Woah!" Bucky interrupted her. "You're not cheer captain yet. For now, cheer is what I say cheer is about, and I say cheer is about winning."

Addison felt like Bucky had slapped her in the face. "B-but… Come on, we could do so much good for people…"

"I don't care!" Bucky interrupted her again, though he kept on with his persistent smile. "Right now, all you should be doing is try to get your green-haired boyfriend to not run for president anymore. When I become president, you become cheer captain, it's as simple as that."

Addison felt gob smacked, and could only look on timidly as Bucky brushed past her and introduced himself to some of the werewolves before explaining all about his campaign.

"You okay?" Wyatt asked as he walked up to her again.

"Yeah…" Addison answered, slowly shaking her head. "It's just… It's Bucky…"

"I couldn't help but overhear a little…" Wyatt pondered. "I hear you want to do good…"

"I do!" Addison blurted out. "But I need to become cheer captain if I want to change things."

"Who said that?" Wyatt went on, getting even closer to Addison. "Who said you can't make things better by simply being who you are?"

"What do you mean?" Addison replied, blushing a little but also cracking a smile.

"I mean…" Wyatt spoke, gently grabbing her hand. "I mean that you're a leader, Addison. But of something a lot greater than cheer."

Addison blushed even more and looked away from Wyatt as a strange, warm feeling in her chest. Right when she wanted to respond, Addison spotted a flash of a very familiar green from out the corner of her eye. Looking to her side immediately, Addison saw a horrified looking Zed standing in the doorway of the gymnasium.

"Zed!" Addison immediately called out, pulling her hand out of Wyatt's.

Zed's eyes widened and he stumbled back a little before hastily running off.

"Zed!" Addison repeated somewhat exasperatedly as she turned her back on Wyatt and went running after Zed.

"Addison!" Wyatt called after her, but she ignored him and continued to chase after Zed.

Addison hurried after Zed, leaving the gymnasium and entering the school's empty halls. "Zed!" She yelled again, just as the zombie in question neared the end of the hallway.

Zed stopped dead in his tracks and turned around, looking back at Addison with a hurt expression.

"What's wrong?" Addison asked, walking closer to where he was standing.

"Really?" Zed reacted, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "You're asking me that?"

"What do you mean?" Addison asked, her tone more icy than before.

"I-I know what I saw in there…" Zed replied.

"Oh yeah?" Addison retorted, crossing her arms and quickly feeling her anger rise. "What did you see?"

-**A few minutes earlier**-

"Do you really think the debate can save us?" Zed asked Eliza as the two walked through Seabrook High.

"Yeah, totally…" Eliza answered. "We may not have the werewolf vote, but if your football buddies can persuade other humans to vote for you, we might still be good. Add to that the swing vote you'll get if you ace the debate, and this president thing should be in the bag."

"Glad to see someone still has hope." Zed sighed.

"Well, we did properly prepare you for the debate, which is more than I imagine Bucky ever doing." Eliza explained.

"Do you think Bucky will actually talk, or that he'll simply do some flips instead of answering questions?" Zed laughed.

"Or maybe he'll share his secret hair gel formula to win over the crowd?" Eliza added, making Zed laugh.

"What time is it?" Zed then asked.

"Ehm, almost three. Cheer practice should be over soon." Eliza answered.

"Yeah, let's head to the gymnasium. Addison still wanted to talk to me." Zed replied.

"You guys aren't as lovey-dovey as before." Eliza said, causing Zed to shoot her a dirty look. "Sorry, I just noticed." Eliza added a little defensively.

"Yeah, I know." Zed mumbled. "It's just a very busy period. When everything gets back to normal, so will we. First, I become president, then we take care of the werewolves, and then I take her to prawn. Problem solved."

"That's another thing…" Eliza went on. "If you become school president, she won't be cheer captain."

"That's another problem for another time." Zed grumpily replied.

"It seems like something you should figure out sooner." Eliza advised.

"We'll get there when we'll get there." Zed shrugged it off and sped up a little.

The two of them eventually reached the gymnasium, where Zed already saw Addison and a group of cheerleaders perform a routine.

"Look at that, seems like she's doing just fine." Eliza smirked.

"I knew she had it in her. She just needs a chance to show-" Zed began, before his voice got caught in his throat.

He had just noticed who were also in the gymnasium, taking part in the cheerleaders' routine no less. The werewolves. The werewolves were cheering…

"And look at that…" Eliza commented, seemingly just as shocked as Zed was. "She got the werewolves to join."

"I see…" Zed mumbled, just as he saw Addison being thrown into the air. "That's strange, right?" He added once he saw her land in Wyatt's arms.

"Why?" Eliza asked.

"Because just yesterday those same werewolves told us they wanted nothing to do with humans or zombies, right?" Zed replied.

"Maybe we just weren't the right humans or zombies." Eliza shrugged, also looking at the cheerleaders who had by now finished their routine.

"What?" Zed snapped.

"They may not like us, but that scruffy, super handsome, fine-smelling Wyatt seems really into Addison." Eliza answered.

This comment made Zed's blood boil. Of course he'd had his suspicions himself, ever since the werewolf in question had first approached Addison. He never admitted his these thoughts to Addison, mainly because he also refused to admit them to himself.

"Then why the hell don't you approach him if he's so handsome?" Zed barked.

"He's not my type…" Eliza shrugged.

"B-because he's a werewolf?" Zed asked.

"No." Eliza answered without elaborating.

Zed didn't press on, and simply kept looking at Addison. "T-they're just cheering…" Zed tried to calm himself. Wyatt then said something to Addison, causing her to smile broadly and even blush a little. "A-and they're laughing…"

"Don't worry." Eliza tried to calm Zed. "Who knows what they could be talking about. It wouldn't be very honest of you to spy on her."

"Yeah…" Zed mumbled, still not taking his eyes off Addison. "M-maybe she's just trying to convince the wolves to vote for me."

"Maybe…" Eliza pondered, though she did not sound confident.

"I'm not threatened…" Zed went on.

"You shouldn't be." Eliza advised. "Jealousy is not a good color on you."

"I'm not jealous! Why would I be jealous!?" Zed retorted.

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Look, don't make a fuss and don't do anything stupid. I need you fresh for the debate tomorrow. I'll see you later…"

"Fine." Zed replied, still not looking away from Addison.

Eliza just rolled her eyes again before walking off, leaving a distraught Zed in the door opening to the gymnasium.

Zed started breathing more heavily as Wyatt again approached Addison and started talking to her with that casual, smooth expression of his. Zed balled his fists as he tried not to let his anger overtake him.

He trusted Addison, of course he did. He just didn't trust this slimy, sneaky and untrustworthy werewolf! He had soundly rejected Zed's offer of friendship, or approaches from any other humans or zombies as far as Zed knew. All Wyatt ever did, even when he had first entered Seabrook, was trying to get close to Addison.

Zed liked to think the best of people, but this suspicious behavior could only mean that the werewolves were hiding some sort of secret agenda. Some sort of hidden purpose to their visit.

Just when Zed wanted to approach Addison, he saw how Wyatt gently grabbed Addison's hand and told her something that made her look away and blush. Zed was stopped dead in his tracks, feeling as though his entire body had been frozen.

At that moment, Addison looked in his direction and her eyes widened in shock.

"Zed!" She yelled as she hastily pulled her hand out of Wyatt's.

Zed panicked and took a shaky step back, suddenly regaining the feeling in his body. He took another step back and then just ran out the door, unsure of how to deal with what he had just seen.

"Zed!" He heard Addison shout after him again, but he didn't stop. Just as he neared the end of the hallway, he heard her yell his name for a third time, and this time he did stop.

He looked back, and saw Addison slowly walk in his direction with an expression that was both timid and rebellious. Zed himself was completely shook, unsure if he should feel sad, angry, betrayed, jealous or all of the above.

"What's wrong?" Addison asked, frowning in apparent worry.

"R-really?" Zed shakily replied, throwing up his hands. "You're asking me that?"

"What do you mean?" Addison inquired, the worry in her eyes immediately replaced skepticism.

"I-I know what I saw in there…" Zed told her, nudging his head towards the gymnasium.

"Oh yeah?" Addison sneered, crossing her arms. "What did you see?"

-**Present time**-

"Y-you…" Zed answered in a shaky tone. "I saw you… And them…"

"Who? The werewolves?" Addison questioned.

"Yes, the werewolves!" Zed sneered. "Why are they here in the first place!?"

"They're here for help." Addison snapped.

"I told you before that the werewolves are not interested in help! Well, my help at least." Zed complained. "Really, they're not interested in fitting in!"

"They're into cheer…" Addison opted.

"No, they're into you!" Zed retorted.

Addison felt herself tense up. "W-what!?" She asked with a stammer and a blush.

"They're into you!" Zed repeated. "They're into you and you're into him- Them!"

Addison took a step back, looking at Zed like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "What do you mean?"

"I've seen him! I've seen the two of you! Addison, you can't seriously say that you haven't noticed." Zed objected.

"Noticed what!? Wyatt being nice to me!?" Addison snapped.

"He's done more than just being nice to you!" Zed went on. "He specifically sought you out when he came here, and now he wants nothing to do with anyone else but you!"

Addison balled her fists. "Because he trusts me! Because I'm not irrationally afraid of them! Because I don't call them furballs behind their backs!"

Zed bit his lip, apparently feeling some shame. "It- It's not fair…"

"What are you talking about?" Addison asked. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Well… You know how hard it was for zombies!" Zed exclaimed. "Years of unjust prejudice and persecution, and now everything is just being handed to the werewolves on a silver platter!"

"Actually, they hate silver." Addison mumbled.

Zed sighed exasperatedly. "You keep asking me to befriend them, to be nice to them, to make them feel welcome and all that! You expect me to do all those things and then also expect me to keep being friendly when the werewolves blow me off! Well, sorry if I don't like hanging around people who despise me!"

"Zed!" Addison protested.

"No, Addison! I'm trying to win an election for my people! I'm trying to win an election for you! So we can go to prawn! So we can be accepted! These werewolves don't care about that and so I find it very hard to care about them!" Zed ranted.

Addison was nearly shocked speechless, but also felt that by now familiar pain of anger rise up in her chest. "No… That… That's not being accepted…" Addison told Zed, pointing at one of his campaign posters that hung on the wall. "That's being afraid to show who you really are…"

"It's temporary…" Zed complained.

"It's still a lie!" Addison retorted. "It's cowardly, and wrong… How am I supposed to respect someone who hides who he really is?"

"Says the girl who wore a wig her whole life." Zed spat, looking angrier than Addison had ever seen him.

Addison took another step back, both absolutely shocked and horrified by what she heard. Out of all the people she knew, she never thought Zed would ever talk to her like this. The pain in her chest, which she was sure previously only came from anger, now definitely felt more like betrayal.

Immediately after his outburst, Zed's expression changed from anger into one of pure regret in an instant. He moved his mouth without any words or even sounds coming out.

"Yes…" Addison eventually replied, her voice shaking and tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Yes, I did wear a wig… Because I always felt like an outsider, and even though I might be cheer captain I still do!"

"Addie…" Zed mumbled, but soft enough that Addison could talk right through him.

"You know I don't have a place here!" Addison was now basically screaming. "I don't fit in with humans! I don't have a zombie crew! I don't know what I am or where I belong!"

Zed shook his head and took a step towards Addison, but she only kept her distance as she felt herself get overwhelmed by her emotions.

"I am alone… So, excuse me for respecting a group of werewolves who are proud of who they are!" Addison went on, finally bursting into tears.

"Addie…" Zed stammered, again reaching out for her.

"No!" Addison reacted, staying out of reach before purposefully avoiding Zed as she walked off. Zed didn't call after her, nor did he give chase, instead he simply stared dejectedly at the floor.

Addison let the tears roll freely down her cheeks as she walked through the school, drawing some very interested stares from some of her fellow students. Addison ignored it all as she headed to a locker room to change out of her cheer uniform before simply leaving for home.

It was like she was in some sort of daze, with everything around her seeming vague and distorted. All she could think about was her horrible confrontation with Zed. Both of them had said hurtful things, but Addison felt as though Zed had truly overstepped any sort of boundary that had existed between them.

Addison realized that this rift between them had to be mainly caused by the stress that the two of them had been under ever since she had left for cheer camp. She had left Zed to continue their struggle for zombie acceptance all on his own, and then only complicated things by promising to help the werewolves. She understood the pressure Zed had to have been under, which should have only been enhanced by the reinstated anti-monster laws, but even all that was no excuse for Zed's recent attitude.

The way he kept talking about the werewolves, like they were more of an animal problem that had to be resolved as soon as possible instead of actual people who needed and deserved their help. Addison didn't want to admit it, but she had been outright disgusted by Zed's attitude. Now things had finally come to a head, and Addison realized that she and Zed had a lot more to talk, and possibly scream, to each other about.

For now, Addison sulked home, neither of her parents even greeting her once she stepped through the door. Addison had lost her phone privileges as well as the ability to leave the house without her parents' approval, so all she could really do was aimlessly lie in her bed with only her desperate thoughts helping her pass time.

Addison had never been a person to dwell in her own misery, and so she kept on trying to think of ways to get rid of her negative mindset. She really wanted to talk to someone about this… Someone who could offer her some helpful advice…

"Addie?" The voice of her father asked as he knocked on her bedroom door.

Addison didn't respond, simply keeping her head still on her pillow.

"Addie…" Her father said once he slowly opened the door. "Your mother and I have to attend a meeting. We won't be back until late at night, so we want you to just stay in your room and not cause any trouble, understood?"

"Fine…" Addison mumbled, not even surprised anymore that neither of her parents were apparently not even concerned with her happiness anymore.

"Goodnight, sweetie." Her father simply concluded as he closed the door.

Addison waited a few more minutes for her parents' car to leave before she got out of bed and headed downstairs. She knew precisely where her parents had hid her phone, and immediately went to retrieve it. For now, the best option she could think of to talk to someone was Bree, so she texted her.

A loud sudden knock on the front door startled Addison, almost making her drop her phone. It was quite late in the evening, and Addison could not think of anyone who would come by at this time of day. She slowly approached the front door and opened it.

There was no one outside.

Addison was almost ready to panic, she'd had enough of a rough day as it was after all. She turned back around, and gasped when she noticed a set of large scratches on her front door, seemingly caused by something with large claws.

When Addison looked back outside, she saw the entire pack of werewolves gathered in front of her house, with Wyatt and Willa at the front.

"Come with us." Willa ordered, staring coldly at Addison.

"W-why?" Addison stammered, trying to keep her breathing under control.

"We need to show you something." Wyatt replied, looking at her in a calming manner.

"I-it's nighttime…" Addison said, taking a few calming breaths. "What's so important?"

"You are…" Wyatt answered, sticking out a reassuring hand.


	10. Chapter 10: Wolf Den

**Sorry for the longer wait, it's been quite a crazy few days. I am planning on finishing the story though, so stay tuned.**

**A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.**

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Wolf Den**

* * *

"Where are we going?" Addison asked as she followed the wolf pack through the dense forbidden forest.

"It's a wolf secret." Wynter snapped as she walked up next to Addison. "If we told you, we'd have to kill you…"

"Then why are you taking me there?" Addison asked. "Will you kill me when we get there?"

"No." Wyatt piped in as he started walking on Addison's other side. "Wynter, would you cut it out!?" He then hissed.

"What? Too much?" Wynter inquired.

"Obviously." Wyatt mumbled.

"Okay… Okay…" Wynter hastily nodded.

"This is serious though." Willa interjected, not looking back at Addison. "This is an honor for you, and we expect you to not tell anyone of what you see here."

"I-I won't…" Addison quickly replied as she steadily walked over more moss-covered ground. "But what is it that I'm supposed to see?"

"We'll explain when we get there." Wyatt told Addison. "There's no need to panic."

Addison felt reassured, and so she stayed quiet for now as she kept following the wolves.

"How did things go with your, ehm, zombie friend?" Wyatt suddenly asked, soft enough that none of the other wolves heard him.

"His name is Zed." Addison replied. "And things have been better…"

"I heard you yelling." Wyatt added. "Not that I was eavesdropping or anything… It was just hard to miss…"

"Yeah, no, I get it…" Addison mumbled. "We're both just under a lot of stress at the moment…"

"I'm sorry." Wyatt said, moving a little closer to Addison. "I know that you two were close…"

"We're together." Addison corrected him, feeling a slight blush creep up on her cheeks again. "We're still together... It's just a rough patch…"

"Okay…" Wyatt nodded, though to Addison it seemed as though he feigned some of his interest. "I'm here if you want to talk about it…"

"Thanks." Addison curtly replied before continuing on her mysterious journey.

Both the conversation she just had with Wyatt and the fight she'd had with Zed echoed in her thoughts. She had previously dismissed Zed's accusations, which to her sounded nothing less than paranoid. Now that she paid more close attention to Wyatt's actions, she hated to admit that Zed may have actually had a point.

Addison liked Wyatt, as well as most of the other werewolves. They had been extremely nice and welcoming, as well as willing to confide their problems to her. But in retrospect, it was true that the werewolves had not even attempted to get closer to anyone else or fit into Seabrook society.

Wyatt had been the first werewolf to come to Seabrook, and he had made it perfectly clear that he had come especially for Addison. He had also said that the werewolves needed help, and that she was the key to all that. Addison thought that Wyatt had believed that she could somehow help connect the werewolves to Seabrook society, but that didn't appear to be the case.

Aside from participating in cheer practice, the werewolves had not gone to any classes or connected with any other people or zombies. Really, the werewolves acted as if they wanted nothing more than to get out of Seabrook again.

"Are you finally going to tell me what's going on by the way?" Addison asked.

"What do you mean?" Wyatt questioned.

"I want some specifics…" Addison said. "You told me that your pack needs help, and you say that I am the one to help you… I get that… But you still haven't exactly told me what's wrong or how you want me to help…"

"We'll clear everything up tonight." Wyatt promised her. "No more secrets…"

"Thank you." Addison mumbled in reply, still heading deeper into the woods.

After what felt like hours, Addison and the wolves finally reached their destination, a large cave at the side of a clearing.

"What is this place?" Addison asked.

"This is our den… Our home…" Wyatt answered.

"Welcome!" Wynter enthusiastically squealed, spreading her arms.

Wyatt and Willa again stared at Wynter somewhat accusingly.

"B-but not too welcome!" Wynter added, raising a supposedly threatening finger at Addison.

Addison raised her eyebrows, more amused than frightened by Wynter's behavior. She then followed the rest of the werewolves into the cave, only to then find herself in a place unlike any she had ever seen.

"The wolf den…" Wyatt announced, grinning at seeing Addison's reaction.

"Wow…" Addison exclaimed, her eyes wide as she took it all in. Never in her wildest dreams had she even considered a place like this could be real. The cave was large, and the reflected moonlight basked everything in a strange, but beautiful blue glow. On both sides, the cave walls were covered in drawings and strange runes. The rest of the werewolf pack stood on the sides as well, and Addison was astounded that there were so many others. Most were about her age, bus she also saw many that were much younger than her.

"It's okay to be impressed." Wynter smirked.

"I am impressed." Addison admitted, still trying to take everything in.

All the werewolves looked at her, but they did so with more interest than disdain. As Wyatt escorted her further into the den, some of them introduced themselves to Addison, who got more and more excited as she shook their hands.

"This is our language." Wyatt explained, pointing to the runes on the cave walls. "Awooo, Addison! That means welcome…"

"Awooo!" Addison tried out, causing all the wolves to start snickering. "What?" Addison blushed.

"Not quite there yet…" Wyatt snickered. "I think you meant to say; Awooo!"

"Awooo!" Addison repeated, again causing the wolves to smirk.

"What did you mean with that?" Wynter grinned.

"Okay, sorry… Ehm… Awoooo!" Addison tried again, this time a little longer.

Now all the werewolves raised their eyebrows in apparent shock, some looking incredulously at her.

"Whoa, whoa…" Wyatt smirked. "Watch your language… There are were-pups around…"

"I'm so sorry." Addison squeaked.

"She needs to put a pebble in the swear-wolf jar." Wynter added.

"I might need some practice…" Addison admitted.

"Let's show you how it's done." Wyatt smirked before gesturing to all the wolves.

At that moment, all werewolves started howling. Addison was somewhat taken aback, but was also extremely fascinated. All werewolves wore similar necklaces, and Addison watched in awe as they all started glowing, only enhancing the almost magical feel of the place.

After a few seconds of howling, a few of the wolves suddenly started coughing. Wynter was one of them.

"Are you okay?" Addison asked, putting a hand on Wynter's shoulder.

Wynter looked over to Willa and Wyatt, who nudged their heads. "My necklace is losing its charge…" Wynter then said.

"What?" Addison asked. "What does that mean?"

"Every day, more and more of our pack become sick because their moonstones lose power." Willa explained. "We need our necklaces to become our werewolf selves, but we also can't survive without them…"

"All of our elders are too sick to travel…" Wyatt added, with the entire pack looking on in earnest. "Which leaves…"

"Which leaves taking care of the pack to us… To me…" Willa concluded.

"Oh my god…" Addison muttered, feeling her heart get heavy.

"You'll be fine, Wynter. I promise…" Willa said, also rubbing Wynter's back. "And you better be right about this." She then told Wyatt.

"Addison…" Wyatt began, making Addison turn around to look at him. "We need you to lead us to the moonstone…"

"The what?" Addison inquired.

"The moonstone." Wyatt repeated. "Our pack's most sacred relic, which was stolen from us by Seabrook settlers generations ago."

"The only way for us to charge our moonstone necklaces is by transferring energy from the moonstone." Willa added. "In other words, we need the moonstone for our pack to survive…"

"But we don't know where it is." Wyatt jumped in. "We don't know where the humans took it."

"B-but… But…" Addison stammered, almost overwhelmed by this amount of new information. "B-but why do you need me?"

"There is a prophecy…" Wyatt immediately began explaining, leading Addison to one of the largest drawings on the cave wall. On it, Addison saw an image of what appeared to be a half-human and half-wolf, raising up its head and howling at a large, shiny rock. The one thing that immediately stood out to Addison was the great emphasis put on the creature's long, white hair. "The prophecy of the great alpha… One of our elders once foretold that one day a great leader would step up… A leader with hair as white as snow… A leader who would lead us to the moonstone…"

"Y-you… You think?" Addison stuttered, still unsure if she could actually believe what she was told.

"Addison, I believe you will lead us to the moonstone…" Wyatt said, again reaching out to take her hands in his. "I believe you're the great alpha…" He added, gently squeezing her hands. "I believe you're a werewolf…"

Addison had trouble keeping her thoughts straight. She felt as though her mind was buzzing, both with excitement and complete astonishment. Surely Wyatt was joking, right? There was no way that she could be a werewolf…

"You're kidding, right?" Addison practically whispered.

"I'm not." Wyatt tried to reassure her. "What's written on the cave is prophecy! You are the great alpha! Look at the drawing! It looks exactly like you! It's uncanny! You are meant to lead us to the moonstone!"

Addison started panting, feeling as though everything was spinning around her. "N-no… I-I'm not a wolf…"

"You can't be sure…" Wyatt went on. "Who knows, maybe you have some wolf blood in you."

"B-but… But I don't know anything about the moonstone… I don't know where it is… I don't even know what it is…" Addison rambled, basically panicking.

"There is time…" Wyatt interrupted her. "Time for you to become a werewolf, join our pack and locate the moonstone."

"Now hold on!" A voice boomed from behind Addison. Turning around, she saw Willa strut over to her with a determined, almost angry expression. "Wyatt, before you say or promise anything else, I need to have my say…"

"Willa…" Wyatt groaned, but the girl talked right through him.

"No, Wyatt!" Willa snapped. "This girl… This girl is a cheerleader, not an alpha!"

Addison felt herself starting to blush, somewhat embarrassed at Willa's harsh words.

"Willa!" Wyatt yelled.

"Wyatt, she needs to earn my trust." Willa retorted.

"Then what do you want me to do?" Addison spoke up, silencing both Willa and Wyatt. "How do I earn your trust? I already told you that I want to help, what more do you want?"

"Only a wolf can be the great alpha!" Willa stated, getting closer to Addison. "Are you a wolf?"

"I-I don't know…" Addison muttered.

"She could be!" Wyatt interjected. "Give her the necklace!"

"She is not worthy of the necklace!" Willa snapped.

"She wants to help us, right?" Wyatt turned to Addison.

"Yes!" Addison resolutely answered.

"Is that not enough!?" Wyatt spat, turning to Willa again. "She has the white hair and she wants to help us! Who are we to turn her down!?"

"She just admitted that she doesn't know where the moonstone is." Willa retorted.

"And neither do we." Wyatt pointed out. "Addison gives us a better chance of finding the moonstone than we've ever had. And remember the prophecy…"

Willa kept on looking between Wyatt and Addison, obviously still not sure of the entire proposition. "Do you actually 'want' to be a wolf?" She then asked.

Addison blushed again, feeling incredibly small with the eyes of every werewolf on her. To be honest, she was still unsure of the entire situation. Sure, she really did want to help the werewolves in any way she could, but to actually become one was another question entirely.

In the back of her mind, Addison was secretly thrilled at this opportunity. Really, who wouldn't be thrilled to join a pack of werewolves!? Also, this rare chance came on the same day that she and Zed had fought about the fact that Addison did not have her own 'crew'.

These thoughts had plagued Addison for a while, and her fight with Zed had actually been the very first time she had told anyone about them. It was true that Addison felt very alone at times. Yes, she had great friends, Zed and Bree included, but there was really no particular group where Addison didn't feel somewhat out of place.

This was mainly the case in the cheer squad. Not a day during cheer camp went by where the Aceys didn't make fun of her hair or her relationship with Zed in one way or another. Bucky was another case entirely. Addison had often tried to lay out some of her plans to him, but Bucky had always resolutely disregarded any aspirations she'd had. All this made her feel as though the cheer squad was not a place where she belonged. She loved cheering, but the backstage drama was something she definitely wouldn't miss.

Then there were her zombie friends. Sure, Addison liked spending time with the likes of Eliza and Bonzo a lot more than most of the cheerleaders, and she loved Zed, but again there were complications. Addison wasn't a zombie after all, and there were fundamental differences that she was unable to overcome. And now there were the added complications of Zed's sort of rivalry with the werewolves, something Addison had not seen coming.

And then there were her parents, her own family. These were possibly the people that Addison felt like she had the least in common with. These were the people who had forced her to wear a wig for fifteen years. These were the people who were more concerned with preserving their image than to let their daughter be who she was. These were the people who still looked down on zombies and werewolves as if they were nothing but beasts.

And then there were the werewolves? Could Addison finally find her place with the werewolves?

"I want to be a wolf." Addison resolutely stated.

"You do, eh?" Willa replied somewhat skeptically. "And why would a perky little cheerleader want to become a wolf?"

"Because…" Addison began, looking through the den at the faces of all the other wolves, who all stared at her expectingly. "Because I see a real community… I see a pack that is confident and unified… You're like one big family… You know exactly who you are and you're not afraid to show it… There's nothing I respect more than that…"

Even Willa looked somewhat gob smacked by Addison's heartfelt answer, while Wyatt looked at her like she was the most amazing thing he had ever seen.

"I have always been an outsider where I'm from…" Addison went on. "If you'd consider letting me join your pack, I'd be honored…"

"Well…" Willa eventually mumbled. "Alright… You want to be one of us? Then show me what you got!" She challenged, squaring up to Addison, raising her head and howling loudly.

Addison was a little startled by this and took a step back, looking around in utter confusion.

Willa kept up her howl for several seconds before lowering her head again and smirking at the still obviously distraught Addison. "Well? What you got?"

"What?" Addison inquired, almost panicky.

"Show her." Wyatt whispered, nudging Addison.

"What?" Addison repeated, still unsure.

"Howl." Wyatt advised.

Addison's eyes widened and she again started blushing. Really? She had to howl for a cave filled with werewolves!?

"You want to be a wolf, right? Wolves howl!" Willa snapped.

"Wolves howl…" Wyatt confirmed. "Just do it…"

Addison looked back at Wyatt, who stared at her expectingly.

"Okay…" Addison mumbled, turning back to Willa and scraping her throat. She looked around at the other wolves a little more, feeling incredibly nervous. She breathed in one more time, raised her head and started howling at the top of her lungs. The sound echoed off the cave walls, and a euphoric feeling started spreading through Addison's stomach. She kept up her howl for a few more seconds before lowering her head, panting slightly as she examined the reactions of the werewolves.

Wyatt grinned broadly, obviously happy. Wynter had her eyebrows raised, seemingly surprised but impressed. Willa, on the other hand, had started squinting and looked at Addison a little more approvingly.

"Okay…" Willa mumbled. "Acceptable, but you need to be better." She added, before again raising her head and starting to howl. This time she howled louder and longer, impressing both Addison and the other werewolves. After she finished, some of the wolves hollered and applauded. "Come on, whitehair…" Willa then challenged.

Addison was feeling fired up at this point, and took a couple more deep breaths before raising her head and howling like she never howled before. It felt incredible! Addison had been slightly embarrassed at first, but the wolves only encouraged and supported her, causing her to smile broadly in the middle of her howl. She eventually stopped after over ten seconds, and stood back with a broad smile as the other werewolves erupted in cheering and hooting.

"Well, well…" Willa contemplated, stepping in closer to face Addison directly. "Perhaps there is some wolf in you after all…"

"Thank you." Addison enthusiastically replied.

"You accept her?" Wyatt asked Willa as he put a hand on Addison's shoulder.

"Perhaps…" Willa pondered. "But not like this…"

"Excuse me?" Addison questioned.

"You look human…" Willa stated. "Disgustingly human…"

Addison looked down at her outfit, which did make her stand out easily among the werewolves. "Ehm, I didn't bring anything else…"

"We have some spare furs lying around." Wynter interjected.

"Come along whitehair, let's fix you up good." Willa added, actually smiling kindly at Addison.

Addison looked back at Wyatt one more time, and he nodded approvingly. And so she followed Willa, Wynter and some other female wolves to a back part of the cave, where they spent over half an hour changing her hair and outfit, and even painstakingly painting some runes on her arms.

When Addison stepped into the main part of the cave after her make-over, she saw Wyatt's eyes nearly bug out when he spotted her.

"Wow…" He muttered, looking her over.

Addison blushed and giggled, also admiring her new apparel. The wolves had given her new pants, a new shirt and a vest in traditional werewolf colors, as well a patch of fur around her neck. New bracelets adorned her arms alongside the strange runes she still couldn't read. Her hair was braided back over her head and cascaded down her back in purposefully messy strands. This was a big change in appearance for Addison, but she loved it.

"Now this is a proper werewolf." Wynter smirked.

"This is a look I can get behind." Willa added.

"This is our great alpha." Wyatt chimed in before directing himself to the other werewolves. "I will follow her, what about you?"

They all cheered loudly before starting to howl, with Wyatt, Willa and Wynter all joining in as well.

Addison looked on ecstatically, her heart thumping audibly in her chest as she followed along and howled to the best of her ability.

"This is it!" Wyatt enthusiastically yelled out when they were finished. "We waited for years, but now we have our great alpha, and we will get out moonstone back!"

"Yeah!" The werewolves applauded.

"Us werewolves will rise again!" Willa added, with the werewolves applauding again.

"We own the night!" Wyatt shouted, pumping his fist up in the air.

"We own the night!" All werewolves repeated, raising their hands.

"We own the night!" Addison concluded, also raising both arms as she celebrated with the werewolves. Her new family…


	11. Chapter 11: Great Alpha

**A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.**

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Great Alpha**

* * *

Zed sighed deeply as he leaned over his desk. After Addison had returned from cheer camp, she had given him all of the letters she had meant to send him before they got shredded by the Aceys. Ever since that moment, Zed had painstakingly tried to glue all the letters back together again, both because he really wanted to know what Addison had written him and because he wanted to show her how much he cared.

At the moment it felt more like a sad coping mechanism though.

He and Addison had had a terrible fight earlier in the day, and Zed kept groaning in misery whenever he thought back on all the terrible things he had said to her. Zed had been so preoccupied with trying to win the election, all so he could take Addison to prawn, that he had actually started paying less attention to their relationship.

He'd had no idea that Addison was unhappy, let alone to the extent that she had described. Aside from that, Zed had not realized how jealous he'd actually gotten of the werewolves, and Wyatt in particular.

Was he really that pathetic of a person that he didn't trust his girlfriend in the company of another guy, or was it just some hatred against Wyatt in particular. Zed was still certain that Wyatt had some sort of secret intentions with Addison aside from her helping the werewolf pack. The way he kept hanging around her, giving her compliments and making excuses to touch her… Zed wasn't a romantic expert, but he knew what flirting looked like…

Zed crumpled one of his own letters in his hand as he thought about the werewolves again. God, why couldn't they have stayed in their forest and left Addison and him alone?

And there it was again…

That anger… That annoyance that Zed rarely if ever felt again crept up in the back of his mind. Addison had gotten mad at him for how he treated and talked about the werewolves, and Zed couldn't really blame her. Maybe Zed's initial dislike of Wyatt somehow jumped over to the rest of the werewolves, which in hindsight made him no better than all the zombie-haters he had always complained about. And now here he was, totally miserable because Addison had accurately pointed out how much of a hypocrite he actually was.

On the other hand, it wasn't like the werewolves had actively tried as well, with Wyatt especially mostly acting negative towards him. Still, Zed had promised Addison that he would try his best, and he had to admit that that hadn't been the case.

Zed reached for a couple of shreds of pink paper, which were all Addison's letters, and carefully tried to arrange them correctly. It was infuriating work, but Zed persisted. Eventually he managed to put together the bottom part of a letter.

'_Zed, always know this…_' The letter read. "_We belong together! 3 Addison_'

Zed felt a burning pain spread through his chest. A deep regret, which was soon accompanied by fiery determination. This was not the end! He would not let him and Addison end this way! He loved Addison! He really did!

Zed took one more look at the motivational piece of paper before resolutely standing up and sprinting out of his room.

"Hey, where are you going?" His father yelled after him.

"To Addison!" Zed replied.

"Go get her, son!" His father shouted.

Zed ran through the dark streets of Zombietown, which was still on lockdown, looking for two zombies in particular. He soon found both Eliza and Bonzo standing on the sidewalk.

"You guys!" Zed exclaimed as he almost ran into them. "I have to go apologize to Addison right now!"

"Gruzah!" Bonzo smiled, pulling Zed into a tight hug that almost broke his ribs.

"So, you finally came to your senses?" Eliza smirked as Bonzo lowered Zed to the ground again.

"I've been so stupid!" Zed admitted. "I spent all this time trying to get us to prawn that I forgot to even pay attention to her! I need to get to her and apologize right now!"

"Gruzah!" Bonzo repeated, seemingly very enthusiastic.

"I know, I want to see it too." Eliza grinned. "Ever since football ended I've so missed watching you get pummeled."

"Then let's go, no time to waste!" Zed cheered.

At that moment though, a large patrol car drove by behind them, its speakers blaring. "Attention citizens, all curfews will be strictly enforced! No one is allowed to cross the border! Violations of these restrictions will be punished!"

Zed felt his heart sink in his chest. "Damn, with the curfew in effect it will be nearly impossible to get past the Z-patrol…"

"Guys! Guys!" Someone suddenly shouted from behind Zed.

Turning around, Zed saw Bree running in their direction, visibly panicked.

"And yet somehow Bree just came here…" Eliza mumbled, looking very surprised.

"Have you… Have you seen Addison? S-she texted me for help, but she's not answering her phone! A-and she's not home either…" Bree panted. "Oh, hey Bonzo…" She then added once she noticed Bonzo.

"Ah, agreza…" Bonzo replied with a small smirk.

"You guys, focus!" Zed exclaimed, causing both Bree and Bonzo to get back to reality. "Bree, what did Addison text exactly?"

"Ehm, just 'help'…" Bree answered, pulling out her phone.

"Why would she need help? And you said that she's not home?" Zed went on.

"Yes, no one was home!" Bree stated. "Not even her parents…"

"Then where could she be?" Zed pondered.

"If her phone is on I might be able to track her." Eliza offered, pulling out her laptop.

"You can do that?" Zed questioned, both genuinely shocked and impressed.

"I can do all kinds of things…" Eliza mumbled as she typed away. A few seconds later her laptop made a beeping sound and Eliza's eyes widened in shock. "S-she's in the forbidden forest…"

"The forbidden forest!?" Both Zed and Bree exclaimed.

"That's where her phone is." Eliza replied, showing Zed the screen.

"Oh my god…" Zed muttered, the fear spreading through his chest. "The wolves must have kidnapped her!"

Bree gasped and pressed her hands against her mouth.

"Really?" Eliza questioned a little indignantly. "The werewolves kidnapped her?"

"They must have! I knew we couldn't trust them!" Zed ranted.

"Zed…" Eliza sighed. "Maybe you're just a little paranoid, but the werewolves aren't that bad…"

"How can you say that!? They just kidnapped Addison! That Wyatt has been after her from day one!" Zed went on.

"That Wynter literally ate my homework one." Bree added.

"That doesn't mean they're all bad…" Eliza shrugged. "I've talked to Willa a couple of times, she seems chill…"

"Still, Addison is out there with them! You guys, we have to help her! Come on!" Zed went on, immediately sprinting for the exit of Zombietown.

"Zed! Zed!" Eliza shouted, running after him with Bree and Bonzo in tow.

"We have no time to waste!" Zed urged them, only to abruptly be stopped in his tracks when Bonzo grabbed him by his collar.

"Zed, calm down!" Eliza demanded as Zed struggled in Bonzo's grasp.

"Calm down!? Calm down!? I have to help Addison!" Zed yelled, still trying to pull himself loose.

"Okay, but we need a plan!" Eliza stated. "First to get past the Z-patrol, and then what to do to get Addison back."

Zed futilely struggled for one more second, and then relaxed. "Okay… Okay! Fine! Did you have anything in mind?"

"We can have Bree distract the guards." Eliza immediately proposed.

"Me!?" Bree squealed.

"Who else? None of us are allowed out." Eliza replied. "While Bree distracts the guards, we can slip past them and head into the forbidden forest to look for Addison."

"I'm coming too!" Bree immediately protested.

"Into the woods?" Eliza questioned.

"Addie is my best friend, I'm not gonna let anything happen to her!" Bree stated.

"Gruzah! Agreza Adski!" Bonzo said.

"Ugh, fine, she can come…" Eliza groaned.

"The whole town can come for all I care!" Zed ranted. "But we need to go now! Who knows what those monsters will do to her!?"

"Stay calm, Zed." Eliza said to him. "First we need to get past the guards, and I can't imagine that that'll be easy."

* * *

"Hmm, that was easy…" Eliza smirked once she, Zed and Bonzo had slipped past the guards, met up with Bree, and had entered the forbidden forest.

"Now we need to find Addison. Do you still have her signal?" Zed asked.

"Yep." Eliza mumbled, looking on her laptop. "They're still moving. They're heading really deep into the forest."

"Then we need to hurry." Zed muttered as he fastened his pace. "Come on…"

Zed basically ran through the dense forest, with his friends lagging behind a little. Every once in a while he asked Eliza for directions, but otherwise he did not stop.

"Zed… Hold up for a second…" Eliza panted, with Zed several yards in front.

"We have to keep up the pace!" Zed retorted.

"Zed, Addison has stopped moving." Eliza told him, again pulling out her laptop.

"What?" Zed exclaimed, looking back.

"She has stopped moving." Eliza repeated.

"What does that mean?" Zed asked, walking over to Eliza.

"Maybe they got to where they were meant to go?" Eliza offered. "It's east, and pretty far as well…"

"What if they hurt her?" Bree groaned.

"She's fine!" Zed barked as he again set off. "But we need to get to her!"

"We're right behind you!" He heard Eliza say, but Zed didn't look back.

Zed soon started panting, his lungs burning as he ran through the forest at top speed, but he didn't stop. He felt as though he was fueled by pure determination, which currently even suppressed the fear he felt. Eliza, Bonzo and Bree followed him, but none of them exchanged any words for now.

It took what felt like an hour, but eventually the small group reached the location where Addison supposedly was according to Eliza's laptop.

"It should be around here…" Eliza pondered, first looking at her screen and then at her surroundings.

"I don't like this at all…" Zed mumbled as he examined where they were. In front of him was the entrance of a large cave, barely illuminated by the faint moonlight.

"Scrazara…" Bonzo said with a shiver.

"I am slightly afraid too…" Bree added.

"We need to find her." Zed stated, taking a deep breath before heading into the cave.

"Zed!" Eliza hissed, hastily going after him. "Zed, shouldn't we think this through?"

"I really don't care." Zed grunted.

"Zedski!" Bonzo also muttered, a little further back.

"Are you trying to get yourself hurt!?" Eliza went on, looking around anxiously.

"I'm trying to save Addison!" Zed retorted.

"By getting yourself killed?" Eliza spat.

"W-well… No…" Zed admitted.

"Then we need to take things careful!" Eliza warned. "Let's not blindly rush into a fight!"

"They took Addison!" Zed raged. "They started it!"

"I'm just saying that we shouldn't do anything stupid! So when you see her, don't act impulsively!" Eliza advised.

"When do I ever act impulsively?" Zed inquired.

"Altaza." Bonzo said.

"That's right, always." Eliza smirked.

"Fine…" Zed muttered, feeling his annoyance level rise. "We'll take it slow… Let's try to stay hidden…"

At that moment, loud howling emerged from the end of the cave, startling Bree and Bonzo into each other's arms.

"They're here…" Zed whispered, slowly sneaking further into the cave.

It was dark, very dark, but faint moonlight somewhat illuminated the cave from behind them, while another faint light shone at the end of the cave.

"Zed, slowly…" Eliza advised, but Zed hurried off anyway.

The cave split up into two directions, and without consulting the others Zed opted to go right.

"Zed!" Eliza again hissed, but Zed crouched further along the cave's walls and kept listening carefully.

More howling emerged from further in the cave, and Zed tried his best to see if he could hear Addison, whether she'd be screaming, yelling or crying. The howling of the werewolves gave Zed goosebumps, and he wondered what those furballs were celebrating.

The faint light at the end of the cave became a little brighter, allowing Zed to more closely examine his surroundings. There were what looked like small packages on the cave's floor, which mostly consisted of fur and branches. There were strange symbols and drawings on the cave walls, which Zed could not decipher.

A little further down the cave there was what appeared to be an entrance to a larger, more open space. Zed crouched down right next to the entrance, hiding behind some rocks. Eliza, Bree and Bonzo soon joined him, all of them trying to make as little sound as possible. Peering over his hiding place, Zed saw what had to be the entire pack of wolves in a large open area, with pale moonlight shining in from the partly open roof. The wolves seemed ecstatic about something, and they all stared at the people in the middle. Zed immediately recognized Wyatt and Willa, taking in the applause from the other werewolves.

"We own the night!" Wyatt cheered, pumping his fist into the air.

"We own the night!" All the other werewolves repeated, raising their arms in a celebratory manner.

"We own the night!" One final werewolf cheered, and Zed felt a shock go through his body. He knew that voice…

"Zed! It's Addison!" Eliza hissed, pulling at his sleeve.

Zed had seen it as well, but he had trouble believing his own eyes. There was Addison, standing in the middle of the pack with Wyatt and Willa at her sides. She looked different… She was wearing usual werewolf colors, brown and purple, there were new bracelets and drawings on her arms, and her white hair had been braided back over her head and cascaded down her back in messy strands. Despite having to get used to this new look a little, Zed had to admit that Addison was still unbelievably beautiful to him.

"What is she doing?" Bree whispered from behind Zed.

"She's smiling…" Eliza mumbled, obviously surprised with their discovery as well.

Zed couldn't take his eyes off of Addison, and he had to admit that she indeed seemed happier than he had seen her in a while. But this couldn't really be true, could it?

"They turned her into one of them…" Zed muttered, feeling his hands shaking in controlled anger.

"Zed, maybe we should just ask her…" Eliza proposed.

"We have to get her out of here!" Zed insisted, not listening.

"Zed!" Eliza persisted, tightly grabbing onto his sleeve.

Zed simply shrugged her off, jumped over the rock he had been hiding behind, and stormed at the werewolves. The first ones he ran past didn't even notice him, but some started yelling and pointing as he sprinted towards Addison.

"Addison!" He shouted when he reached her.

"Zed!?" Addison exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.

"Come on, let's go!" Zed urged, tightly grabbing onto her wrist.

"Zed! What…" Addison stammered, not budging.

"Let's get out of here!" Zed went on, not paying the werewolves any mind yet.

Those werewolves had in the meantime gotten closer to Addison and him, surrounding them. Most had bared their claws or fangs, and did not appear to appreciate Zed's presence one bit.

"What's the greenhair doing here?" Willa spat, getting closer in a threatening manner.

"You are not welcome!" Wyatt added, taking a step in Zed's direction.

"Stay back!" Zed warned as he pushed Addison behind him and put a hand around his Z-band. "Don't make me take this off! You don't want to see me zombie out!"

"Wolves!" Willa raised her voice and her hand, which was obviously a sign for the wolves to get closer.

"Stay back!" Zed repeated, trying to keep Addison out of a possible scuffle.

"Get him!" Willa snapped, and the wolves jumped into action.

At that same moment, Zed tore off his Z-band and tossed it away. Zed felt the somewhat familiar feeling of rage and power spread through his body. He started shaking from the top of his head to the tips of his fingers, dark veins suddenly standing out against his otherwise pale skin. Trying in vain to control his trembling, Zed nearly doubled over as he took heaving breaths in between growls and grunts.

The first wolf reached him and tightly grabbed onto his arm, but Zed effortlessly pulled himself loose, took a hold of the wolf's arm and threw him nearly to the other side of the cave.

The other wolves were visibly shaken by this, and none of the others dared come any closer, though they did not stop showing their claws and baring their teeth.

"Stay back!" Zed repeated, taking a threatening step towards the werewolves, who then actually stepped back a little. "Don't make me hurt you!"

"No! No stop!" A voice yelled, and Zed felt someone pulling on his left arm.

Zed threw back his arm instinctively, and he felt that he hit something. Then the pain and unease suddenly left his body as he stopped trembling and saw his skin turn back to its regular pale. Zed looked around in surprise and saw his Z-band reattached to his wrist, causing him to quickly calm down.

"W-what?" Zed mumbled, looking back. His eyes widened in fear immediately when he saw Addison laying on the ground, grimacing in pain. "Addison!" Zed instantly exclaimed as he ran over to her and pulled her up straight. "Addison… I-I'm so sorry… "A-are you hurt?"

"I'm fine…" Addison groaned as she rubbed her arm and got back to her feet.

"Get out!" Wyatt snapped, still looking incredibly angry.

"He can't be here!" Willa added, also glaring at Zed.

"Guys, please!" Addison pleaded. "D-don't hurt each other…"

Wyatt and Willa quickly glanced at each other, before retracting their claws. Their eyes were still flaring though, and most of the other werewolves kept their fangs bared.

"Zed, what are you doing here?" Addison asked once everyone regained their cool.

"I-I came to save you…" Zed answered, still suspiciously eyeing the werewolves.

"S-save me!? What? How did you even find me?" Addison ranted.

"W-we tracked you…" Zed muttered.

"We?" Addison inquired.

At that moment, Eliza, Bree and Bonzo left their hiding place.

"Hey Addie…" Bree greeted with a timid wave.

"What the-" Addison exclaimed, before turning back to Zed. "Why are you here?" She repeated in a steely tone.

"T-to save you…" Zed mumbled, looking anxiously at the still dangerous looking werewolves.

"Guys…" Addison said, turning to Willa and Wyatt.

"Wolves, stand down." Willa ordered.

"Zed, I want to be here." Addison told Zed once the wolves lowered their claws.

"You… What?" Zed muttered.

"B-but you texted 'help'…" Bree spoke up, pulling out her phone.

"What?" Addison replied, taking out her own phone. "Crap, it didn't send… I, ehm, I wanted to talk to you earlier today… Before all this… But I sent a follow-up text that said I didn't need help anymore…"

Bree again looked at her phone, and her eyes widened. "Ooh, I see… By the way, love the new look…"

"They shouldn't have come here." Willa stated as she walked up to Addison. "How did they even find this place?"

"Yeah, how did you?" Addison followed up.

"We tracked you…" Zed answered, feeling more and more stupid with every passing second.

"How?" Addison asked.

"You had your phone on you…" Eliza spoke up, approaching Zed, Addison and Willa. "I was able to track it with my laptop, but I only did it because Zed thought you were in danger."

"You tracked us here using that thing?" Willa asked, pointing at the laptop.

"Yeah, sadly us zombies lack your keen sense of smell." Eliza replied a little snarkily.

Willa did not respond, but Zed could swear that he saw the corners of her mouth twitch.

"Why would you think I was in danger?" Addison inquired, making Zed focus on her again.

"B-because… Because…" Zed stammered. "Because I wanted to apologize, but you wouldn't pick up your phone, a-and then Bree came by and showed your text… And then Eliza tracked you, and it said that you were in the forbidden forest. I thought the werewolves kidnapped you…"

Addison's expression turned cold. "You thought they kidnapped me?"

"Well, yeah…" Zed murmured.

"How very trusting of you…" Wyatt sneered as he also joined the group.

Zed had to keep himself from openly glaring at Wyatt, and so he just turned back to Addison. "If they didn't kidnap you, then why are you here? A-and what's with the… The, ehm…" He added, pointing at Addison's new clothes and hair.

Addison briefly looked over at Willa and Wyatt, who both still suspiciously stared at the new arrivals. "I'm here because I want to be…" Addison then said. "I'm here because the werewolves asked me to… They think I might be a werewolf as well…"

This statement made Zed raise his eyebrows in both shock and indignance. "Y-you… What? How?"

"W-well… I-I…" Addison stammered, a small smile appearing on her face. "I mean, who knows? Maybe one of my ancestors was a werewolf… But my hair… My hair means something here, look…" She went on, gesturing at a drawing on the cave wall.

Zed looked, and saw a figure with long, white hair, just like Addison's. "What is that?" Zed asked.

"That's the great alpha…" Wyatt answered. "Our pack's most sacred prophecy. The great alpha was foretold to one day lead our pack back to glory."

"So?" Zed inquired. "What does Addison have to do with that?"

"Addison is our great alpha." Wyatt retorted. "She is meant to lead us."

Zed instantly turned back to Addison, who shrugged a little sheepishly. "You believe this?" He asked her.

"Why shouldn't I?" Addison replied in a rebellious tone. "I have the white hair, and I want to help them! You know that I'm not a zombie, and I don't fit in with the humans… Maybe this could be my pack…"

Zed didn't know what to say. At the moment, he was mainly processing what Addison had told him. "Do you… Do you really want this?"

"I do." Addison resolutely answered. "What if this is where I belong? I can't just pass up this opportunity…"

"But… But…" Zed stammered. This was really something to wrap his head around. He wanted Addison to be happy, of course he did, but how would their relationship change if she turned out to be a werewolf? Would she still actually want to hang out with him, or would her new pack take up all of her time? Would she still feel the same way about him? Would they still be able to be together?

"Why would he have a say in your decisions?" Wyatt spoke up, angering Zed.

"Wyatt…" Addison groaned. "Zed is important to me… I want to listen to him…"

"I'm not sure about this, Addie." Zed immediately said, causing Addison to raise her eyebrows.

"What?" She snapped.

"This… I mean, it all seems a bit random… Wait, did you only come to Seabrook because you thought Addison was a wolf?" Zed then asked, mainly directing himself towards Wyatt.

"She's the great alpha!" Wyatt retorted. "She's far more important than you realize!"

"Addison, I was right!" Zed then enthusiastically said. "I told you that the wolves didn't care about fitting it! They didn't care about Seabrook, they only cared about you!" He went on, talking as if he'd made some big breakthrough.

"Because they needed help!" Addison shouted, apparently not caring about this for Zed crucial piece of information. "They're getting sick! They need the moonstone to get better, and I will lead them to it!"

"You will?" Wyatt asked with an admiring smile.

"I will!" Addison resolutely answered. "I promised that I would help, and I want to be in your pack. I want to be your great alpha!"

Zed looked on hopelessly as the wolves all nodded or mumbled approvingly. Really, he had no idea what to say… He was still distraught from all this new information, and felt like he had a lot more processing to do.

"We want Addison to lead us." Wyatt then said, mostly to Zed. "And we couldn't have asked for a better leader…"

Zed looked back at Addison, who just looked so proud. He naturally couldn't deny that Addison was an amazing person, and a great leader, so he couldn't really go against Wyatt's claims without possibly upsetting Addison.

"Even you?" He eventually asked, looking at Willa. "Even you accept Addison?"

Willa's eyes quickly flashed towards Addison, but it was almost unnoticeable. "I do…" She then answered. "She's one of us…"

"She could officially become one of us…" Wyatt said in a sort of proposing tone.

Willa looked at him for a second, and then turned to one of the other wolves. "Get the necklace." She ordered, and the other wolf immediately ran off.

"Addie, I'm sorry!" Zed then suddenly blurted out. "I'm sorry for everything! I should have paid more attention to you… There's no real excuse for what I did… Please forgive me… Come home…"

Zed saw Addison's expression turn somewhat sad, but also compassionate. "What if this is my home?" She then asked.

"Then I'll stay!" Zed answered.

"Not gonna happen!" Wyatt interjected.

"I just want to be with you…" Zed practically pleaded.

Addison sighed, her eyes watering slightly, but right at that moment the werewolf returned and handed Willa a small, but richly decorated box.

"For centuries…" Willa began, approaching Addison with the box. "This had been set aside for the great alpha." She stated, opening the box to reveal a necklace just like the once all the werewolves were wearing, with a brightly shining stone in the middle.

"A fully charged moonstone is priceless to us, Addison." Wyatt said. "If you're truly one of us, you'll be transformed into a werewolf when you put it on… You'll be part of our pack… Forever…"

"What? No!" Zed exclaimed as Addison took the box and stared at the necklace with wide eyes.

"She has to make her own decision!" Wyatt snapped.

"Addie, please…" Zed was now begging, feeling his heart thumping in his chest.

Addison looked back at him, seeming unsure and almost scared.

"Well, are you gonna put it on?" Wyatt asked in a both hopeful and impatient tone.

"I, ehm…" Addison mumbled. "C-can I think about it?" She then asked, making Zed breath a sigh of relief.

Wyatt and Willa exchanged a quick look. "For a day…" Willa then said. "Only once you've joined us, you can lead us to the moonstone."

"Willa!" Wyatt hissed, but she ignored him.

"You can help us when you're one of us, until then I still lead this pack." Willa stated.

Addison nodded, and closed the box.

Zed was relieved, but still apprehensive.

"Right…" Eliza suddenly spoke up as she appeared next to Zed. "Look, it's getting kind of late… So, maybe we should head home?"

"Yes." Zed immediately complied. "Come on, Addie, we'll drop you off…"

Addison looked distracted, which was only understandable. She eventually just nodded as she put the small box into one of her pockets. Behind Zed, Bree and Bonzo slowly approached the exit, trying to not make any eye contact with the werewolves.

Zed gently grabbed Addison by her wrist, and slightly pulled her along. Eliza joined up with him, but did not come between them.

"Thank you, Addison." Wyatt then said, just as Zed was about to leave. "We'll see you tomorrow."


	12. Chapter 12: Moonstone

**I apologize for not updating the story in a while, but you can all expect more regular chapter uploads from now on.**

**A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.**

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Moonstone**

* * *

"So…" Addison's mother, Missy, spoke up during breakfast after a few agonizingly quiet minutes. "New look?"

Addison looked over her outfit, which was still the one that the werewolves had provided for her the day before. She had already realized that her parents would probably freak out, or at least be mildly surprised at her new attire, but she didn't care.

"I like it." Addison answered somewhat rebelliously. "My new friends like it."

"Did you join a, ehm, rock band?" Her father, Dale, asked, causing Addison to look at him incredulously.

"I'm obviously talking about the werewolves." Addison said.

"Oh, so now you're 'befriending' those as well…" Missy mumbled, taking a careful sip of her coffee.

"Why shouldn't I? I helped them get into Seabrook, why shouldn't I help them feel welcome as well?" Addison protested.

"We are not having this conversation again." Missy sighed.

Addison simply glared at her mother before finishing up her breakfast. Dale glanced at both his wife and his daughter before fully focusing on his paper again.

"Well…" Missy began. "Dale, what were you saying?"

"Hmm?" Dale responded, a little wide-eyed.

"Before she joined us." Missy replied, nudging her head towards Addison. "You were discussing something work-related…"

"Oh, yeah." Dale nodded, lowering his newspaper. "So, everything is set for the plant's demolition, but some old blueprints have resurfaced that contain underground passages we didn't know about."

"Underground passages?" Addison spoke up. "Under the powerplant, you mean?"

"Yes." Dale nodded. "After we saw the blueprints, we naturally checked out the building again, and there are several hidden doors and latches, all rusted shut naturally."

"What could be in those tunnels?" Addison wondered, mostly to herself.

"Probably nothing. They're completely sealed, which should indicate that they're no longer of any use." Dale explained. "Still, I can't help but wonder. There are all sorts of cables and pipes leading down as well, so they were using electricity down there."

"So, could anything about those tunnels push back the deadline?" Missy asked, sounding somewhat worried.

"We don't expect there to be any difficulties." Dale answered, obviously doing his best to reassure his wife. "No one even knew these tunnels existed, so we doubt if there's anything of note in there. An expert is going to take a look, approve the demolition nonetheless, and we'll finally be able to blow that eyesore into tiny bits."

Addison wasn't listening anymore, otherwise she would have tried to make her parents not act so disinterested about an important piece of zombie heritage. No, she was deep in thought.

Tunnels under the powerplant, she was sure not even Zed or Eliza knew anything about that. Really, what could be under there? Addison was a naturally curious person, and a mystery like this really piqued her interest.

"How old are those tunnels?" Addison asked.

"Excuse me?" Dale spoke up, obviously surprised by his daughter's apparent interest.

"How old are the tunnels? Like, when were they built?" Addison followed up.

"Well, they appear to be as old as the plant itself." Dale said.

"But wasn't the plant built by some of the first Seabrook settlers?" Addison went on.

"Correct." Dale acknowledged. "Still, we have no idea what they used it for. The plant didn't become a plant until less than two-hundred years ago, and it didn't stop being a plant until the, ehm, you know…"

"Zombie incident." Missy finished his sentence.

Addison scowled at her mother, but did start thinking even more about the mysteries of the Seabrook powerplant.

The history of the powerplant had always been vague, at least if both the history books and professors were to be believed. The fact was that the powerplant had already been built, long before it was used as an actual powerplant. There were theories as to what the building had been used for, but no proper conclusion was ever reached.

And now these old tunnels were discovered, surely that meant something. The building had been prepped for demolition for some time now, so how had something as huge as secret tunnels always eluded them?

Still, none of this really mattered, right? Addison had enough to worry about without secret underground tunnels suddenly occupying the last part of her conscious mind. There was Zed… The werewolves… Cheerleading… The moonstone…

Addison subconsciously felt the small box in her pocket, the one that contained the werewolves' only fully charged moonstone necklace. The one meant for the great alpha…

The temptation to put it on was almost unbearable, but she managed to refrain herself from doing so. Really, that last night she'd spent with the werewolves had to be one of the best nights of her life. That feeling of belonging and comradery was something she'd never felt before. The wolves didn't only want her in their group, they wanted her to lead their group. The ecstasy of that moment would have been enough to make her put on the necklace then and there, but it was Zed who had pulled her back down to earth…

Of course Addison needed some time to think things over. This was a pretty big decision after all. Putting on the necklace would make her a werewolf, which all but meant that she'd have to turn her whole life around. No more living with humans, who would undoubtedly cast her out. No more cheerleading, or school probably for that matter. No more Zed…

That had to sting the most. Zed and her had been so close, but Addison couldn't help but feel like their relationship had been in a downward slope ever since she'd returned from cheer camp.

Addison could still not really believe how jealous Zed had been acting over the past weeks, but she could also barely imagine having to stay away from him for the remainder of her life.

Ugh, it was all too complicated. Naturally, becoming the great alpha would probably not be a cakewalk either. Wyatt had not pulled any punches when he explained the genuine threat he and the other werewolves were under. Really, if the moonstone wasn't found soon, their entire species could be eradicated.

But where could it be? Addison didn't have a clue.

Thinking deeply, her head resting on her hand, Addison laid out the facts. The moonstone had been taken hundreds of years ago, by some of the first Seabrook settlers. What they did with it, no one knew. None of the Seabrook history books spoke of the moonstone, but they didn't speak of the werewolves either, so Addison doubted if they'd be of any help anyway. She also doubted if any of the current Seabrook inhabitants would be of any use, since there was no way any of them could know what transpired all those years ago.

It was all a dead end, really. The moonstone was probably lost forever, buried under hundreds of years of history.

What would the Seabrook settlers have done with the moonstone anyway? Could it have been of any use to them , or was it simply some sort of trophy of their cowardly victory against the so-called 'savages'? Could the moonstone still be in Seabrook? If so, where? Where could the moonstone be hidden where no one would have found it for all those years?

Addison then started thinking back on all the old werewolf legends she had been told as a child. There had always been the warning to stay out of the woods, along with cautionary tales of horrid beasts that would drag children out of their bed at night. These scary stories were always accompanied by the one tale of brave Seabrook settlers who defended themselves and pushed the monsters back into the forest. At one such raid, it is said that the settlers returned with something… Something powerful… An energy source…

Addison straightened up in her seat, eyes wide and not paying her disgruntled parents any mind. Her thoughts were running a thousand miles a second. The realization hit her like a runaway train! How could she have been so ignorant!?

The answer had been in the stories this entire time! The humans took something from the forest, though it had never been specified that they had taken it from the werewolves! According to the werewolves, the humans had stolen their moonstone, which was obviously something the humans would never admit! It was an energy source! It was all so obvious!

Alright… Alright… Addison tried to calm herself. Really, all she now knew was that the werewolves told the truth. The humans had taken the moonstone, yes, but she still had no idea where it was.

That was a whole other question indeed, and a much harder one. Really, how could she ever discover what those early Seabrook settlers would do with something as powerful as the moonstone. Really, what could they have done with it? Knowing the humans, they would have probably displayed it as a reminder of their supposed superiority, or they would have used it for their own selfish purposes.

The moonstone was an energy source to the werewolves, but could the humans have figured out how to use it? The stories did describe an energy source, so they did know. Still, how could no one know of it now, if it did happen?

It was all so long ago… Too long ago… If no one kept any record of it, how could she or anyone else still find the location of the moonstone. It was lost… It's as simple as that… Just like the tunnels under the powerplant, simply no one knew anything about it…

Suddenly, it was as if the light went on inside Addison's head.

The tunnels… The powerplant… The moonstone… An energy source…

It was all so obvious!

The Seabrook powerplant was built by early Seabrook settlers, but it didn't start of as a powerplant! No one knows what it was used for! The moonstone was an energy source! There are secret tunnels under the powerplant!

The moonstone had to be hidden in those tunnels!

It all made sense! The powerplant was built by the Seabrook settlers around the same time they had taken the moonstone! No one knew where the moonstone was, and no one knew that those tunnels even existed, it all fit perfectly!

Addison was beside herself! She could very well have found the moonstone! Now there was no way the werewolves would ever turn their back on her again! This had to be a sign! Of course she should become a werewolf if she'd get the chance!

Addison immediately sprung upright, knocking over her half-empty glass of orange juice.

"Addie!" Missy exclaimed, looking at her daughter with disdain.

"I have to go!" Addison replied, not looking back towards her parents as she sprinted for the door.

"Addie!" Dale called after her. "Addie, make sure you come back home right after school! You are still grounded and we don't want you out and about while the plant gets demolished!"

"Wait, what!?" Addison shouted as she ground to a halt and looked up at her parents with a shocked expression. "The demolition is still happening!? Tonight!?"

"Yes. Of course." Dale answered. "We have a schedule."

"No! Wait! They can't do that!" Addison pleaded.

"That's not your concern, Addie." Missy dismissed her outrage. "We have planned to get rid of that despicable building for months now."

"But… But…" Addison stammered, still a little too distraught by her miraculous revelation to sufficiently argue with her parents.

"The demolition is happening." Missy stated. "And tell your zombie friends that anyone who sets foot on that site will be arrested for entering restricted property."

"But mom, this is important!" Addison pleaded.

"Enough! You just get to school! The last thing we need is for your attendance record to falter as well." Missy warned Addison.

"Ugh!" Addison groaned as she rolled her eyes before slamming the door on her way out. The steam was metaphorically coming out of her ears as she stomped her way to school.

Many people gave her the side eye on her way to Seabrook High, obviously eyeing her outfit suspiciously. Addison couldn't care less though. She just wanted to get to school, mostly to talk to both Zed and the werewolves, and discuss her incredible discoveries regarding the moonstone.

As Addison neared the school, all sorts of students, both human and zombie alike, exclaimed their surprise at her new choice of clothing.

"Look at Addison!"

"Check her out!"

"What is she wearing?"

"She looks amazing!"

"What's with her hair?"

Again, Addison ignored these comments, as well as the people calling out to her.

"Attention! Attention! It's election day, Seabrook! We have an assembly to hear from our presidential candidates! We hope to see you there!" The speakers announced as Addison entered the school.

Ugh, Zed's debate… She had completely forgotten about it. Today he was supposed to go up against Bucky and try to win the majority of the votes for himself. Addison had tried her best to help, but her mind had naturally been otherwise occupied for the last couple of days. She felt bad, but also realized that there was probably not much she could have done.

Still, no matter how important Zed thought his presidency was, the werewolves and the moonstone were Addison's top priority at the moment.

"Whoa! Bad hair day?" One of Addison's least favorite voices said from behind her.

Addison sighed as she turned around to see Lacey and Stacey walk in her direction, their arms interlaced and identical obnoxious grins on their faces.

"Or bad hair life?" Stacey added to the previous insult.

"I think it looks great." Addison shrugged, crossing her arms and scowling.

"Yeah, not so much…" Lacey smirked, still with that sickening smile.

"Yeah, well maybe I don't care what you think." Addison snapped, really not in the mood.

"Ooh, an attitude?" Stacey questioned, squinting at Addison.

"Addison, if you ever expect to be cheer captain…" Lacey began.

"Well, maybe I don't want to be cheer captain!" Addison interrupted her, almost shocked by her own words. Lacey and Stacey were similarly astounded, as both of their mouths dropped in surprise. "If I have to be around people like the two of you all the time, then maybe cheer isn't for me after all!"

This was apparently the single most shocking thing she could have said, as both Lacey and Stacey's mouths hit the floor. Both of them stammered a few unintelligible words, before Lacey grabbed Stacey by her arm and dragged her along.

Addison felt somewhat satisfied as she watched the two scurry off, but was then immediately brought back to earth as she saw Zed hurry in her direction.

"Addison! Addison!" He shouted, almost slipping as he stopped in front of her.

"Zed…" Addison said once he was close enough, but he talked right through her.

"Addison, I was up all night thinking." He began. "You're not a werewolf! You can't be!"

"Zed." Addison sighed. This was not a discussion she wanted to have.

"I mean, how would that even be possible!?" Zed went on. "I mean, both of your parents are human!"

"I believe it's more about how I feel than about what I am." Addison explained. "I have never found a group like theirs who accept me for who I am. And I could very well be a werewolf… I mean, I love moonlight strolls…"

"So? You also hate garlic, doesn't mean you're a vampire." Zed countered.

"Zed…" Addison repeated, feeling like their argument was on a loop.

"Just, look…" Zed began, placing his hands on Addison's shoulders. "It's really hard being considered a monster. Trust me, I know… I don't want that for you…"

"Sorry Zed, but I'm past caring." Addison replied, looking up at him. "I'm an outcast anyway, and with the wolves I'll at least be accepted somewhere."

"Addie…" Zed said in a pleading tone. "I accept you… I'll always accept you…"

"Even when I do become a werewolf?" Addison inquired.

Zed seemed lost for words, which all but answered Addison's question.

"I'm not a zombie, Zed." Addison explained. "And I don't fit in with humans."

"But… Still…" Zed groaned, looking around a little panicky.

"I've made up my mind. All I've ever wanted was to find my pack, and now I finally have." Addison stated.

"But what about all that moonstone business?" Zed asked. "I mean, you could die, right?"

"But that's the thing!" Addison squealed, obviously excited. "I think I know where it is!"

"What?" Zed questioned.

"There are secret tunnels under the powerplant. Old tunnels, built by early Seabrook settlers." Addison explained.

"Tunnels? Under the powerplant? What?" Zed stammered, seemingly distraught.

"Yes! And I'm certain that that's where the moonstone is hidden. The old settlers must have used it as an energy source, but then locked it away when the place was converted into the powerplant." Addison went on.

"Uhm… I… Ehm, wow…" Zed stuttered, taking in this massive amount of new information.

"It's still there. It has to be. But my stupid parents are also still planning on tearing down the powerplant this very night, so I have to stop them." Addison added.

"I-I'll come with you…" Zed offered, though he sounded a little hesitant. "I mean, are you absolutely sure?"

"Positive." Addison nodded. "But you can't come, Zed. You have the debate coming up…"

"I can-" Zed began, but Addison interrupted him.

"No, Zed. You have to do this. I'm sorry I can't make the debate, but I have to find the wolves and tell them what I know." Addison said.

"Addie…" Zed pleaded.

"And when I do…" Addison went on, grabbing the small box out of her pocket and opening it, showing Zed the shimmering moon necklace. "I'm going to put this on."

Zed softly took the box from her and looked at the moonstone, biting his lip. "Is there anything I can do?" He asked, his gaze shifting back towards her.

"You're doing enough." Addison replied, looking to her left to see one of the many 'Zed for president' posters on the wall. "Good luck with the debate." She then added before pulling Zed into a tight hug.

With a slightly heavy heart, she tore herself loose and started walking off, trying to get Zed out of her head and instead focus on telling her amazing news to the wolves.

"Oh, almost forgot!" Addison then exclaimed as she hastily turned around retrieved the box that contained the moon necklace from Zed. She could hit herself in the head for almost forgetting it, but felt relieved when she stuffed it in her pocket again. "You'll do great!" She told Zed one more time before resolutely turning around and heading down the busy hallway, leaving a sad looking Zed.

Addison was again basically buzzing with excitement as she looked around for the werewolves, eager to tell them of the moonstone. It took longer to find them than she expected, but eventually she ran into a small group of them near the gymnasium.

"Guys! Guys!" Addison shouted as she ran towards the group that included both Wyatt and Willa.

"Addison!" Wyatt immediately called out, smiling as she approached.

"Have you made a decision?" Willa asked as soon as Addison was close enough.

"I, ehm… Yes, but there's something more important!" Addison urged, fumbling her words a little.

"What could be more important?" Wyatt inquired.

"I think I've found the moonstone." Addison said, almost beaming with pride.

"What!?" All the werewolves exclaimed, gathering around Addison.

"I think I know where it is!" Addison smiled."

Wyatt started grinning broadly. "She found the moonstone…" He told the other werewolves. "She's amazing!"

"Let's first hear her out." Willa barked. "Well? Where is it?"

"I think…" Addison began, somewhat perplexed by the way the werewolves hung on her every word. "I think the moonstone is underneath the Seabrook powerplant."

"Underneath the powerplant? How?" Willa asked.

"There are secret tunnels, my dad only found out about them yesterday." Addison explained. "These are really old tunnels, built around the same time as the plant itself. I believe that, when the early Seabrook settlers took the moonstone, they used it as a power source in the plant. No one knows about it because the plant was changed into a regular powerplant. The tunnels were apparently sealed and they must not have been opened for hundreds of years."

"So, the moonstone is still down there?" Wyatt questioned.

"It must be. It's the only place in Seabrook I can think of where it could be hidden. And it makes sense, if the settlers actually used the moonstone as an energy source, then what better place could there be?" Addison went on.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Willa inquired.

"We should trust her." Wyatt interjected. "Face it, this is the biggest lead we've ever had."

"Okay, fine. Let's get to the powerplant and find our moonstone then." Willa shrugged.

"There is a problem…" Addison spoke up, though she did so a little softly.

"What's wrong?" Wyatt asked.

"The plant is set for demolition." Addison explained. "Tonight they're going to level it, and I'm not sure if the tunnels will be intact after that happens."

"W-well, then we have to go right now!" Willa snapped. "Sabotage the demolition and stop them!"

"No, you can't!" Addison exclaimed, causing all the wolves to stare at her a little incredulously. "I mean, it's a restricted site. You can get arrested for going there."

"We don't care!" Willa immediately protested. "The moonstone is sacred to us, and we need it to survive!"

"She's right." Wyatt jumped in. "Addison, we need to do this."

"Couldn't we try talking first? People could listen…" Addison offered.

"We're past talking, and it's not like your humans have been good listeners up to this point. They don't care about us, so we'll just need to do it ourselves." Willa sneered.

"Then I'll come with you!" Addison stated, sure of herself.

"What?" Willa questioned, pulling up an eyebrow.

"I'm ready to become a wolf. Let me come with you." Addison went on.

"She is the great alpha." Wyatt tried to encourage Willa.

"Not yet, she isn't." Willa scoffed. "Proof that you're one of us." She then told Addison.

Addison got the hint and immediately grabbed the small box out of her pocket. Taking a few breaths, she carefully considered her options and decided that this was indeed what she wanted. She opened the box and wanted to take out the moonstone necklace, but to her shock she found out that the box was empty.

"Where is the necklace?" Wyatt asked, looking at the empty box in Addison's hands.

"I-I don't know…" Addison stammered, immediately searching her pockets, thinking the necklace maybe slipped out.

"You lost it?" Willa asked in a cold tone.

"No! No! It must be here!" Addison panicked, unable to find the necklace.

"Do you have any idea how precious a moonstone necklace is!?" Willa went on, growing more and more angry with each passing second.

"Addison?" Wyatt practically whispered as he took a step back, staring at Addison with immense disappointment.

"No, I… I don't know how…" Addison stuttered, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

"She's not coming with us." Willa immediately stated, sounding downright disgusted with Addison.

"No, please." Addison pleaded. "Wyatt?"

Wyatt kept looking between Willa and Addison, seemingly a little torn.

"If she was serious about being a wolf…" Willa began, grabbing Wyatt by his shoulder. "If she was the great alpha, then she wouldn't have been so careless…"

Wyatt looked into Addison's tear-stained eyes for one more second, before tearing himself away. "You're right." He told Willa. "Of course you're right. She failed us."

"No…" Addison cried. "I'm sorry!"

"You just stay away from us." Willa warned, squaring up to Addison before simply walking past her, making sure to bump into her with her shoulder.

"You can't do this…" Addison begged, as the other wolves also walked past her like she didn't exist. "The demolition is dangerous! You could get hurt!"

"Taking care of the pack is my responsibility! Mine!" Willa snapped, turning around to give Addison another furious look. "You are nothing to us! We don't need you! Now stay away from us!" She finished before abruptly turning around again, her hair sweeping behind her.

Addison was completely sobbing at this point, falling to her knees as the tears freely flowed down her cheeks.

The wolves all simply kept walking away from her, not even sparing her another glance. Only Wyatt, who appeared to be just about as miserable as Addison was, looked back for a second. His eyes, which usually sparked with joy whenever he looked at her, were now cold and filled with disappointment.

In a last ditch effort, Addison frantically turned all of her pockets inside out, hoping that the missing moonstone necklace would magically appear, but of course it didn't.

Where did it go? Did it fall out? How could this be happening!?

Addison was completely distraught. Never in her life had she felt such sadness, disappointment, and a sense of betrayal. She thought that she had finally found her pack… A group where she thought she belonged… But now these very same people made no secret about the fact that they absolutely despised her.

Addison felt lost. This was her chance, and she blew it! How could she have been so stupid to lose the moon necklace!? God, Addison could very easily imagine why they were so angry with her. Wyatt and Willa had all hammered on about the importance of the fact that their moon necklaces had to be charged in order for them to survive. They had gifted her their last remaining fully-charged moon necklace, the one meant for their savior, the great alpha. They had arguably entrusted her with their fate, and Addison had let them down beyond belief. This pain… She would do anything to get rid of this pain…


	13. Chapter 13: Winning

**I apologize for not updating the story in a while, but you can all expect more regular chapter uploads from now on.**

**A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.**

**A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.**

**Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Winning**

* * *

"You all set, mister big shot?" Eliza asked with a grin, patting Zed on his shoulder as the two of them walked to the school's main hall.

"Yeah… Sure…" Zed mumbled, unable to completely concentrate on his presidential campaign with most recent heated conversation between him and Addison still ringing in his mind.

"Zed, focus!" Eliza hissed, elbowing him in his side.

"That's a little difficult with everything that's going on!" Zed snapped.

"I get that, I do." Eliza nodded. "But this is important as well, and you made a commitment. Zed, not to pressure you, but the zombie community is sort of counting on you."

"Way to keep the pressure off." Zed complained.

"You'll do great, Zed." Eliza tried to encourage him.

"So, what's with the kindness all of the sudden?" Zed asked with a half grin. "Yesterday you were still hammering home how incompetent I was."

"That was joking time, now is serious time." Eliza replied. "It's no use to try to bring you off your game when I actually want you to win."

"Thanks." Zed smirked.

"Come on, it's a debate against Bucky, it's like taking candy from a baby." Eliza went on.

"Well, knowing him he probably has something big planned." Zed argued.

"But still…" Eliza shrugged. "I know you can do this, Zed. I have faith in you. Now, our first job is to not be late, so let's go."

"Yes, boss." Zed grinned, still somewhat moved that Eliza still went through so much trouble for him.

"You just remember to smile, wave, and not get thrown off by Bucky's comments." Eliza reminded him as they neared the doors to the main hall. "You're going to prove to everyone that we're more than just…"

"Monsters…" Zed finished her sentence as they entered the main hall, where a terrible surprise awaited them.

Dozens of posters, some larger than banner size, were displayed all over the main hall. Half belonged to Bucky, with his toothy grin and sparkling eyes ever present. His smiling face was accompanied by the words 'Bucky for president'. The rest of the posters featured Zed, but definitely not in the way he would have liked to have been portrayed…

"Bucky made me look…" Zed began.

"Scary…" Eliza finished his sentence.

Zed got an uneasy feeling as he examined the posters once more. On these posters, he looked the way he did whenever he would take off his Z-band. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin even more pale than usual, and what scared him most was his expression. His mouth was wide open, with his teeth bared, and his hands were raised as if he was about to strike. All in all, it was a pretty accurate representation of misguided zombie fear. Aside from this unflattering portrait, the poster also featured the words 'Monster? Zed for prez, you for dinner?', which also didn't help the situation.

"Dammit." Eliza sighed.

"How many people do you think believe that?" Zed asked, looking over the rows of students who were already present, most of whom were enthusiastically pointing at the posters.

"Ignore it." Eliza barked.

"How do you expect me to do that?" Zed inquired. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but my gruesome zombie face is plastered all over the main hall."

"Play into it." Eliza advised. "Make jokes, and act like it's not a big deal. Make it look like Bucky's attempt to anger you failed. Show that you're above all this childishness."

"I'll try." Zed replied.

"No try!" Eliza snapped. "Do! Do, Zed! Do as I say, or we'll have to live with that oaf as our president." She added, just as Bucky entered the room, flanked by the Aceys.

"God, I just want to crush him…" Zed grunted, balling his fists.

"No violence!" Eliza warned. "Keep your cool, but try to make him lose his. Challenge him. Try to bring him off his game. Take advantage of Bucky's temper and show everyone that he's not mister cheery cheer, like everything thinks."

"I can only remember so much of your advice." Zed complained.

"Whatever. I'm gonna check up with Bonzo on the stage, you just try to relax." Eliza said as she patted him on the shoulder one more time before heading for the stage.

"What do you think of the decorations?" An obnoxious voice from behind Zed asked.

Zed slowly turned around, and stood face to face with a smiling Bucky.

"Horrendous, though I guess that's the point." Zed replied, staring down his opponent.

"Exactly." Bucky smirked. "I have to say, I'm glad that I'm not above a little slandering of my rival."

"And I have to say I'm not surprised." Zed retorted. "I would honestly applaud you, but I know that there's no way you came up with such a carefully thought out plan on your own."

Bucky's smile immediately disappeared. "You're going down, greenhair. You may have corrupted my sweet, innocent cousin, but there's still plenty of people in this school that want you gone."

"That's why I'm here…" Zed smirked, spreading his arms. "To change their minds. And maybe yours in the process…"

"Dream on, weirdo." Bucky scoffed as he moved past Zed towards the podium. On his way, he encountered Eliza, who sneered at him as she passed him.

"Everything's set." She said as she neared Zed. "You're not too pissed off, are you?"

"I have no idea what you mean." Zed grinned as he started walking to the stage as well.

"You're ready? You got your speech?" Eliza asked, sounding more than a little paranoid.

"Right here." Zed replied as he reached into his pocket and grabbed a piece of paper that Eliza had provided for him.

"What's that?" Eliza asked, looking intently at what Zed held in his hand.

Looking down, Zed saw to his shock that along with his speech, he had also grabbed Addison's moonstone necklace out of his pocket. Panicking, he tried to immediately stuff the necklace into his breast pocket.

"Addison's necklace?" Eliza inquired, having obviously recognized it.

"I-I took it." Zed spat out, feeling like lying wasn't an option at this point.

"Zed!" Eliza exclaimed, looking disappointed.

"I can't let her become a werewolf!" Zed retorted. "I know they're taking advantage of her somehow, and I need to protect her! All of this… Running for president… It was all for her…"

Eliza sharply slapped Zed on his arm. "No, Zed! This is bigger than that, okay? Becoming the first zombie president is not something you should take likely! This is for you, for me, for all zombies everywhere! Whatever your intentions were, they don't matter anymore! This is more important than anything else, you understand?"

"Yes, but…" Zed began, before Eliza interrupted him.

"No buts!" She snapped. "Zed, I can't even begin to imagine how angry Addison will be when she finds out."

"She has to understand." Zed shrugged. "She just has to…"

"I… I-I'll…" Eliza stammered, her hand shaking in apparent anger. "Look, we'll deal with this later, okay? No matter how big of an idiot you are, first you need to become president."

"You still want me to?" Zed asked, a little perplexed.

"It doesn't matter what I want." Eliza spat. "What matters is what's best for all zombies! And a zombie president, that's what zombies need."

Zed felt somewhat ashamed after Eliza's rant, especially because she really hammered home how important his presidency would be for zombie-kind. The reason why Zed had initially signed up was simply to be able to take Addison to prawn. He hadn't even considered that his decision would actually have any sort of major impact on other aspects of his life.

"Attention! Will all contestants please report at the stage. Repeat, will all contestants please report at the stage." A voice said over the speakers.

"Let's just get up there." Eliza sighed. "Break a leg, maybe for real."

"Thanks." Zed mumbled as Eliza and him headed for the stage. Despite everything Zed was still trying to psych himself up a little.

Principal Lee stood in the middle of the stage with a mic, waiting to introduce both contestants.

"Good afternoon, students. Welcome to your presidential debate. I shall now hand the mic to the running mates of both contestants, who will help introduce both candidates for the debate. Alright, without further ado…" Principal Lee spoke into her microphone before Lacey suddenly yanked it out of her hand.

"Running for president, wearing the sequined Mighty Shrimp uniform… Three-time ***MVC**… Lean, mean, cheering machine…" She addressed the crowd with the air of an announcer.

"And captain of our hearts…" Stacey joined in, appearing next to her fellow Acey.

"Bucky!" All three Aceys then shouted, followed by almost feverish applause from all the students in the stands.

Bucky smiled and waved, obviously enjoying all the attention he was getting as he walked up the stage, blowing kisses and winking to his adoring fans.

Principal Lee applauded as well, though more politely than the outrageous students. "Alright…" She stated once she'd retaken the mic from the Aceys. "Now, your other candidate of…"

Obviously not wanting to be outdone, Eliza also ran up to Principal Lee and snatched the microphone.

"Introducing our soon-to-be first green-haired president!" Eliza began, trying to hype up the crowd. "And repping a proud people… Zed!"

Perfectly timed, Zed then jumped onto the stage with his arms held up high. Again there was a loud applause, with the zombies in the audience obviously making the most noise.

"Hear him roar!" Eliza went on, making some wild gestures while trying to rile up the crowd.

Zed, realizing that this particular choice of words alongside the array of unflattering posters was not a particularly good combination, quickly took hold of the mic.

"Uhm, no. Actually, we're not going to roar… No roaring…" He tried to reassure the audience, causing Eliza to glare at him once more.

"Zed will fight for you!" She quickly yelled into the mic while Zed wasn't focused.

"No! Y-you know what, um, I'm not going to fight. Because this isn't a fight…" Zed hastily corrected Eliza's outburst. "This is just a nice lil' cordial debate we're having here today."

"Good to hear, Zed." Principal Lee said as she patted him on his shoulder and took the mic off him.

Zed raised his arms victoriously one more time, also taking the time to high five the principal, before he walked back over to his personal stand, rubbing his hands in anticipation.

"Very well." Principal Lee smiled as she walked off the stage and placed the mic on a stand in between the contestants' stage and the students on the stands. "The way this works is that I will be asking you questions that have been sent in by the students, which I have here in this hat…" She told Bucky and Zed. "You each get the opportunity to answer the question and comment on what your opponent has said. Are we clear?"

"Clear as cheer." Bucky replied, still smiling broadly for the audience.

"Clear." Zed repeated, tapping his fingers on his stand.

"Very well…" Principal Lee repeated, shuffling a number of cue cards in her hands. "Let's begin…"

And so, the debate started. Principal Lee drummed up numerous questions, which were either provided by herself, the school board or the students themselves. Zed answered every question truthfully or to the best of his knowledge. Bucky did the same, to Zed's surprise, and actually provided some solid plans.

Zed occasionally checked his Z-band, which also told the time, and kept thinking about Addison. Sure, he'd taken her moon necklace, but he was sure that she would still tell the werewolves about the location of the actual moonstone. Knowing the werewolves, they would probably not want to waste even a single minute. They were probably already heading for the powerplant, intent on finally reclaiming their lost relic. Would Addison be with them?

Zed felt a twinge of relief knowing that she wouldn't be able to transform into an actual werewolf without her moon necklace. Then his thoughts spiraled further, and he started imagining all the possible ways Addison might respond to him stealing her necklace. Would she understand his intentions? Would she forgive him?

"Zed!" Someone hissed, awakening Zed from his contemplations.

Everyone in the hall was staring at him, and Zed immediately straightened himself.

"Ehm… Excuse me?" Zed mumbled, directing himself to Principal Lee.

"The question was…" Principal Lee began, obviously a little ticked off. "Are there any major changes in school policy you hope to introduce?"

"Oh! Ehm, yeah… Yeah…" Zed rambled, quickly trying to organize his thoughts.

"I am more than happy to answer while my opponent gathers his thoughts." Bucky interjected, smiling condescendingly at Zed's troubles.

"I'll allow it." Principal Lee stated before Zed could protest.

"Students… Friends…" Bucky began, spreading his arms in what was probably supposed to be a warm gesture. "We don't need to lie to ourselves… We all know that our school is, by far, the best in the country… Nay, the world even… Take a gander at our cheer trophies, and it's easy to see that our school is great. It's just great… So, why mess with success? As president, I intend to let our school stay as awesome as it already is! Let's save our tradition and keep those cheer trophies coming! Bucky for president!"

"Yay! Bucky!" The Aceys all cheered, clapping their hands in an exasperated fashion. They weren't the only ones though, as a lot of students in the crowd seemed to agree with Bucky's points.

"Mister Necrodopolis, a rebuttal perhaps?" Principal Lee then asked Zed.

Zed took a second to breathe in and out. "Look…" He began, his hands clamping his stand. "I'm not saying our school isn't great… It certainly has a rich history… But…" He slowly went on, looking to his side, where Eliza was giving him a thumbs up. "But we can also learn from our history… Up until barely a year ago, me and my people weren't even allowed in this school. Changes have already been made, and these were positive changes. We're on a good trajectory, and I believe that together we can make sure that every new day will be a better day for both human- and zombiekind. Let's keep voting for change!"

A thunderous applause erupted from the crowd, with particularly the zombies letting themselves be heard.

To his left, Zed saw Bucky's usual grin dissolve into an angry and annoyed grimace.

"Very well…" Principal Lee spoke, once the applause had died down. "Now we can…"

"Principal Lee, could I maybe offer a rebuttal to that rebuttal?" Bucky then interrupted her, his big smile having reappeared on his face.

"That, ehm… Yes… I'll allow it…" Principal Lee replied, a little taken aback.

"Now look here…" Bucky began, turning to the audience. "That's all well and good, what my opponent said… Yes, it is true that we have changed our laws and traditions before… With, ehm, middling results…"

Zed scoffed, briefly forgetting that there was a microphone right in front of him and that everyone could hear him.

"Look, I don't know what your problem is." Bucky then went on, turning specifically to Zed. "You zombies had nothing, and we graciously allowed you into our school already. You should be thankful!"

"Thankful!?" Zed exclaimed, not even bothering to ask Principal Lee for permission. "We were locked behind your walls for decades like rats in a cage! After all those years of neglect, I think we are at least owed equal rights! We're not asking for special treatment! We just want to be able to do the same things as you!"

Again the zombies in the audience applauded, while Bucky audibly exhaled through his nose. Principal Lee spoke into her mic a little timidly, trying to calm everyone down.

"Ehm, alright…" She stammered, addressing Zed and Bucky. "I have to remind you that this debate is purely school orientated. Please refrain from discussing any topics not relating to the school. Is that understood?"

"Yes." Zed and Bucky said in unison.

"Fine, then continue." Principal Lee added.

"I was just saying…" Bucky began, before Zed could speak up. "I get you want 'equal rights' and everything, but, ehm, do you truly expect things to change just like that? Change takes time, in case you don't know. Compare what you zombies have now to what you had just a year ago, and you can't deny we've made things much better for you."

"Well…" Zed stammered, momentarily thrown off.

"And aside from that…" Bucky continued, not waiting for Zed's response. "You say you want equal rights, but you're not equal! Not to us! You're zombies! You're monsters!"

"We aren't monsters!" Zed protested, really starting to get annoyed. "How are we any different from you!? We're on the football team… We join the cheer squad… Monsters wouldn't do those things."

Bucky wanted to interject, but Zed talked right through him.

"I have gotten to know plenty of humans in the past months, and I know that most of you have your head on the right way… You know me! You know us zombies ! Again, we zombies don't want any special treatment. We've got a good attitude, and we are not monsters!" Zed practically shouted, getting a far more spirited response from the zombies in the audience.

Bucky seemed less happy, chewing his cheek and staring daggers at Zed. "Right… Right… You say that you're not monsters!? You eat brains for cheer's sake!"

"Well, you don't have any, so you'd be safe!" Zed spat, really getting fed up.

A lot of people in the crowd started laughing uncontrollably, with even Eliza holding a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter.

Bucky was now basically fuming, his head having turned a threatening shade of red. "Y-you're all weird and strange! You joke about eating people's brains! You can honestly not be surprised that we humans might not want a zombie president!"

"We want change!" Zed retorted. "We don't want to take anything away from you humans, but we do want to improve things for zombies. We need a president who would do whatever it takes to make things better for all students!"

Again students applauded, and Zed couldn't help but notice several human students also joining in this time.

Bucky apparently noticed this as well, because his eyes narrowed when he turned back to Zed. "Look, greenhair, we can go back and forth all we want… In the end, it's just a fact that you're a monster, and you can't debate that."

"Not a monster, just a zombie." Zed replied, calming himself with a few careful breaths. "A zombie with a few good plans and even better intentions."

"You want to change Seabrook!" Bucky spat, openly pointing. The actual structure of the debate was now all but forgotten.

"For the better." Zed retorted.

"How?" Bucky questioned, crossing his arms.

"First, allowing zombies to go to prawn." Zed answered.

"How's it better to have zombies at prawn?" Bucky countered, looking towards the audience as if he'd made an actual point.

"Ehm, let's see…" Zed said, pretending to be in deep thought. "For one, our dance game's strong." He added, proceeding to moonwalk all the way to Bucky's and back to his own and doing a spin before posing.

The audience laughed and applauded, and Bucky almost seemed insulted that Zed used dance to shut him up. "Right… Right, yeah… You'll do your little dance moves before hulking out and eating everyone." Bucky spat.

"We're already attending school, so what's the harm with allowing us to party a little as well?" Zed offered. "Us zombies can throw one hell of a party, isn't that right, Bonzo?"

"Gruzik!" Bonzo enthusiastically shouted, before blowing into his personal brass instrument.

Most students in the crowd laughed, and Zed spotted Bree jumping up and down on the front row.

"That! That!" Bucky interjected, pointing at Bonzo with a trembling finger. "Y-your language! T-that zombie tongue! You want that taught at our school, don't you? You want us to adapt to your primitive life style!"

"I wouldn't say it like that…" Zed shrugged, trying to act casual. "Why not have zombie as a second language? I mean, it'd be an easy A…"

Bucky snorted. "Yeah, right… And what else? You want zombie dates on the calendar?"

"More holidays." Zed simply replied.

More cheering, with about three quarters of the human students also joining in. It was only now that Zed saw some genuine panic in Bucky's eyes.

"What exactly will you bring to the table, Bucky?" Zed asked once the applause died down. "I mean, aside from giving the cheer squad even more privileges… You must have some plans to make the school a better place for us regular students?"

Bucky's eyes widened as he turned to the crowd. Most students were clearly not satisfied with Bucky's statements up to this point. "I, ehm…" He stammered. "Of course… What, ehm… What about, 'no more homework'?" Bucky exclaimed, spreading his arms as if he was distributing candy.

There was barely any reaction from the audience.

"That is not something you can promise, mister Bucky." Principal Lee intervened. "Homework is still a mandate from the school board."

Now some laughter erupted among the crowd, but it was obviously meant to ridicule instead of support Bucky.

"Are there any other points either of you would like to discuss?" Principal Lee asked the candidates.

Bucky opened his mouth, but soon closed it when no sound came out.

"I believe I've made all my statements, Principal Lee." Zed spoke, trying to sound calm and collected. "Just one more thing…" He added, stepping away from his stand onto the center of the podium. "Zed for prez!"

The crowd loudly cheered, with only a handful of stubborn cheerleaders keeping their arms crossed in support of Bucky.

"Vote for me, because I swear I'm no monster." Zed grinned, placing his right hand on his heart. For a brief moment, he felt like the most confident zombie in the world…

That moment lasted but a second though… Because immediately after he put his hand on his chest, he felt something was wrong. It was as if he was suddenly getting tased. He felt his entire body tense up, from the tips of his fingers all the way down to his toes. It was a strange, but also familiar sensation. He knew what was happening… His Z-band was malfunctioning…

The other students must have seen it too, because the applause died out almost immediately.

Abruptly, there was a red gleam in front of Zed's eyes… He felt a raw power coursing through his veins… He could suddenly smell the blood running through the human students' bodies… He could hear their hearts pumping… His mouth was dry… Unbearably dry… With jolty movements, Zed spread his arms and took a step towards the wide-eyed crowd. He then raised up his head and let out a thunderous roar…

Everyone immediately panicked, and dozens of students started screaming as they scrambled to get to the emergency exits.

There was a strange, high-pitched ringing in Zed's ears, and he could barely distinguish any sound. Aside from that, he also couldn't really focus on anything aside from brains…

"Zed! Zed!" Eliza yelled from the sidelines, though her voice seemed to be coming from miles away. "Addison's necklace is shutting down your Z-band! Zed! Take it off!"

From the corner of his eye, Zed saw how Addison's moon necklace had latched itself onto his Z-band, which was flickering and malfunctioning. Still, Zed didn't have the willpower or the focus to remove it.

"See! See! He is a monster!" Bucky basically cheered as he watched Zed stumble further down the podium.

Strangely, it was this comment that made Zed briefly regain his senses, and he tried to pull Addison's necklace away from his Z-band. However, his cramped up limbs still didn't do what he wanted them to do, and soon his thoughts were again consumed by brains.

"Zed!" Eliza again yelled, jumping up onto the podium and approaching him carefully. "Zed! Breathe! Try to focus, okay?" She said, trying to calm him. "You can control this! You are stronger than this! You don't have to hide, Zed!"

Again Zed briefly slipped from his stupor, and he painstakingly tried to control his staggering arms. Even in his red-eyed state, he realized that he had never been able to somewhat control his zombie mind the way he was doing now…

"Nice going, greenhair!" Bucky jeered as he appeared on Zed's other side.

"Bucky! Stop! This is serious!" Eliza scoffed, staring daggers at Bucky.

"I know! He just seriously flunked his chances of ever becoming president!" Bucky laughed, standing agonizingly close to Zed with his cocky grin. "I know you won't hurt me, big guy… But they don't…" He added, gesturing to the panicking crowd.

Briefly consumed by anger, Zed lashed out with his left hand and took a hold of Bucky's shiny letterman jacket before yanking him closer to him.

"Zed! No!" Eliza screamed.

Bucky was screaming as well, and struggled with all his might to escape Zed's grasp.

Zed growled as he pulled Bucky even closer, and he was able to see the absolute fear in his victim's eyes. For one second, Zed genuinely wanted to crush Bucky's skull, but then he again briefly regained focus.

He felt ashamed… Bucky's fear, which he had enjoyed but a few seconds ago, now made him nauseous… Zed immediately let go of Bucky, who fell to the ground and started crawling backwards. Not wasting anymore time, Zed snatched his right wrist with his left hand, and pulled desperately.

The necklace came off, and the change was immediate. It was as if Zed had been underwater all this time, and only now had he been able to again get some air. His head cleared, and all murderous intent vanished instantly. His limbs were no longer cramped, and Zed felt eternally grateful for that. His sight, hearing, smell and taste all returned to normal, but that also meant that he could only now hear the screaming in all its chaotic glory.

"Zed! Zed! Are you okay?" Eliza rambled as she ran up to him and tightly clutched his shoulders.

Zed took a few deep breaths, feeling as though he had just ran a marathon. To his left, a still terrified looking Bucky was slowly and shakily getting to his feet. Bonzo stood a little further back, looking even more pale than usual. Bree was standing next to him, her hands covering her mouth in shock.

The shame that Zed had felt returned, and he couldn't bear all the looks of fear and anger with which both the humans and zombies stared at him. He turned around, brushing off Eliza's hands, and walked off the stage.

"Zed! Zed! Stop!" Eliza yelled as she gave chase.

Zed didn't stop until he had left the main hall. He was still breathing heavily as he leaned against some lockers.

"Zed?" Eliza softly asked as she walked up to him. "Zed, you need to talk to me…"

"I just lost the debate…" Zed mumbled, only now truly realizing the consequences of his transformation.

"Maybe…" Eliza hesitantly replied. "Probably…" She added. "Yeah, you did…"

"All of zombiekind was counting on me…" Zed groaned. "And I let them down… I lost the election and I lost the zombies what little pride we have in our community…"

"Yes, but the problem is that you lost yourself first!" Eliza spat, turning strict in an instant.

"What?" Zed reacted, more surprised than anything else.

"You lost yourself first!" Eliza repeated. "These last weeks, you've been a completely different person! I barely recognized you anymore!"

"Wha- Wait a minute! You supported me in my campaign!" Zed retorted.

"Because that was what was best for zombiekind, not because I thought you were doing such a good job!" Eliza scoffed. "You turned into a pompous jerk! You tried to act more human, you have always been a total asshole to the werewolves, and you have become blinded by your goals!"

"My goals are to make things better for zombiekind!" Zed shouted.

"Please…" Eliza rolled her eyes. "We both know that's not why you wanted to run for president in the first place…"

"I… I…" Zed stammered. "I wanted to get zombies into prawn…"

"Because…" Eliza went on, looking at Zed expectantly.

"Because I wanted to take Addison…" Zed admitted. "And what's so bad about that?"

"Nothing, aside from the fact that you have completely neglected her feelings as well!" Eliza went on.

Now Zed felt a twinge of anger, but his newly regained clear-headedness also stopped him from immediately falling out at her. "What does that mean!?"

"She's unhappy, and you know it!" Eliza snapped. "All she wants is to help the werewolves, but you don't want that because you only want her all to yourself!"

"That's not-" Zed tried to interject, but Eliza wasn't finished.

"You've become so possessive! And frankly, it's been creeping me out!" Eliza continued. "If you actually loved Addison, you'd let her follow her dreams and actually help her along the way! Instead, all you do is complain, try to sabotage the werewolves and dismiss Addison's dreams!"

Zed felt gob smacked. The things Eliza said were all the things he had been fearing in the back of his mind. Was it all true? Had he been so focused on trying to take Addison to prawn that he had neglected their relationship? Had he been such a shitty boyfriend that he had actually jeopardized their entire relationship?

"Newsflash, Zed! The world doesn't revolve around you! You can't just write off anyone that doesn't fit in your perfect little worldview! I understand you might feel a little hesitant about the werewolves, but I expected you to at least care a little about someone you love, like Addison!" Eliza raged on.

"I-I do…" Zed weakly replied.

"Then start acting like it!" Eliza said, slapping Zed on his arm. "Look, you may have ruined your chances of becoming president, but doesn't mean you've ruined everything! You can still make it up to Addison, which means apologizing to the werewolves and helping them as well."

Zed didn't answer, as he was deep in thought. Eliza's rant really made him think, and he realized that he would probably have to reevaluate every decision he'd made ever since Addison returned from cheer camp. Really, even with the admittedly good points Eliza was making, Zed didn't really 'want' to help the werewolves… Or so he thought… He had promised Addison that he would try to help the werewolves, but he had known from day one that he only did so to please Addison, not because he felt any sympathy towards them.

Did that make him a bad person? Zed liked to think he wasn't, but who was he to judge? Zed did feel a deep sense of regret, which indicated to him that he knew he had done something wrong…

He then naturally started thinking about Addison… Addison, who he loved so much… Addison, who had always supported him… Addison, who had occasionally seemed so unhappy in the couple of weeks… Addison, who had asked him to do one thing, which he hadn't done… Addison, whose feelings he had completely neglected… Addison, whose necklace he had stolen…

"I want to make things right between me and Addison." Zed resolutely said.

"Then you have to suck it up and apologize to the werewolves! Not to mention give Addison her necklace back!" Eliza told him.

"But…" Zed groaned, staring at the necklace he still held in his hand. "But what if she won't forgive me?"

"What matters is doing the right thing." Eliza responded. "Don't tell me you're honestly so selfish that you'd only help Addison if it'd make you happier!"

"No!" Zed immediately replied. "I want her to be happy!"

"Becoming a werewolf would make her happy. Would you 'allow' her to do that?" Eliza asked, crossing her arms.

This again silenced Zed, who kept staring at the necklace. He simply didn't have an answer at the ready.

"That's what I thought." Eliza spat before abruptly turning around.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Zed asked.

"To find Addison, Willa and the other werewolves!" Eliza replied. "I don't give a shit about your ego anymore, and I'm gonna help the werewolves whether you like it or not! You can either show up, or keep on being a selfish prick!" And with that, she walked off in quite a hurry, fists balled and obviously agitated.

"Wait! Don't go!" Zed pleaded.

"I'm not gonna fight your freaking battles anymore! Do something yourself for once!" Eliza added, giving Zed the finger before turning a corner.

Zed felt even more depressed. He stared down at the necklace in his hand, and kept feeling worse.

He didn't know how long he was actually standing there in that hallway. Zed's thoughts were a whirlwind, and he was having severe trouble actually focusing on anything. His body was still reeling from his transformation, and there was a persistent tremor present in his hands. Zed kept breathing in and out, closing his eyes to try and get rid of his newly emerged headache as well.

Numerous students passed him, both humans and zombies, and they all gave him the same look of fear and distrust. Still, Zed couldn't care less about what these people thought of him at the moment.

Before he could try and mend things with both the zombie and human communities at the school, he would have to mend things with one human in particular.

Zed banged his head against the lockers, cursing himself for being such a freaking idiot. Did he truly care more about his own ego than about Addison? Of course not! And did he think he knew what would make Addison happy better than she did herself?

In retrospect, Zed and Addison had lately definitely hit a rough patch, which was something Zed hated to admit. He liked to imagine that Addison and he have always been and will always be the perfect couple, and didn't like to think there was anything wrong with them. To admit that they were out of sync, meant to admit that there was something wrong with one or both of them.

Zed again banged his head against the lockers. Was he honestly considering whether this rough patch might be Addison's fault? Eliza was right… He had turned into a pompous asshole… Addison had done nothing wrong… Poor Addison, who had only tried to help a group of people in dire need… No, this was all Zed's fault…

Could he still make things right? Should he at least try?

Zed squeezed the necklace in his hand as he straightened back up and began walking down the corridor. He needed to do what was right, whether he would come out better on the other side or not…

Right as he turned a corner, a bright, red light suddenly started flickering above him.

"Attention! Attention! Monster activity! Monster activity! Please stay away Seabrook Power." A loud voice called out over the speakers. The message then kept on repeating, with the lights continuing to flicker as well.

Zed felt his heart beating faster. Seabrook Power? Surely this was the werewolves' doing… But the alarm meant that they had been caught…

Zed started running. Whatever was going on, he was sure that Addison would be with the werewolves. Addison's moon necklace was still clutched in his hand while he ran, but even after all his reconsidering, he still didn't know if he wanted to give it back…

* * *

***Most Valuable Cheerleader**


End file.
